Overview
- DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin told the House Homeland Security Committee on Wednesday that the primary wall from the Pacific to the Gulf is on track for completion by June or summer 2027 and that a secondary barrier should be finished by summer 2028.
- Mullin said the department will issue all construction contracts by the end of this month to accelerate work and said he has made multiple oversight trips and aerial flyovers to check progress.
- The plan pairs the primary barrier with localized 150-foot secondary sections and a so-called 'smart wall' of sensors that can cue drone patrols, a response Mullin linked to cartel tactics of cutting and breaching fencing.
- The timetable and spending follow recent GOP funding measures that revived the Trump-era project and were discussed during Mullin’s FY2027 budget testimony, which drew sharp partisan exchanges on policy and rhetoric.
- Officials say denser fencing will shrink crossing points and change enforcement on the ground, a shift that could speed apprehensions in some areas while increasing construction impacts for border communities and contractors.