Trump Pushes His $275M Border Wall Agenda Amidst Pandemic, Construction To Begin 2021

The United States Customs and Border Protection announced Friday that it had awarded the contract to build the border wall in January 2021.

What Happened

A $275 million border wall contract has been awarded to the Montgomery, Alabama based Caddell Construction Company. Construction of the border wall spanning 14 miles in the surrounds of Laredo, Texas, on the Rio Grande river, will only commence if President Donald Trump is re-elected, reported Fortune.

CBP is using the funds it received from Congress, instead of utilizing military funding which was funneled towards the wall project.  The agency said construction would commence “pending availability of real estate.”

Why It Matters

A small existing wall exists between Laredo and its Mexican sister city of Nuevo Laredo. The proposed wall would pass through private land and may require the government to exercise eminent domain laws, according to Fortune.

Government lawyers have filed lawsuits against South Texas landowners, which include homes, businesses, and even a Catholic orphanage. The government is looking to outright seize the properties or is demanding access for survey purposes.

Trump is pushing his wall agenda, even amidst the coronavirus pandemic. In his present term, 162 miles of new barriers have sprung up along the US-Mexico border, but this is still short of the 500 miles promised during the presidential campaign.

The president has already issued an executive order halting immigration to the U.S., but that order does not affect foreigners already in the country on valid visas or travel documents.