The crews that spent more than a year hustling to build as much border wall as possible in Southern ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ stopped working last week, at least in some places, after President Biden ordered a construction pause.
As a candidate, Biden promised “there will not be another foot†of border wall built during his administration. Hours after his inauguration on Wednesday, Biden directed federal officials to “pause work on each construction project on the southern border wall†as soon as possible and no later than seven days after his proclamation.
The Army Corps of Engineers directed contractors “not to install any additional physical barriers†along the border, according to a statement from the Corps on Thursday. Contractors were prohibited from doing any work except for what is “necessary to safely prepare each site for a suspension of work.â€
While critics of the wall applauded Biden’s order and reported work stoppages from various parts of ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s border with Mexico, their cheers came after the Trump administration built nearly all the 245 miles of wall planned for ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s border with Mexico. And construction could start again after the Biden administration’s 60-day review of wall projects.
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The wall consists of 30-foot-tall steel bollards filled with concrete. The bollards are 6 inches wide and separated from each other by 4 inches of space, which allows Border Patrol agents to see activity on the Mexico side of the border. The wall is topped with anti-climbing plates, and the foundation extends 6 to 10 feet underground to thwart tunneling.
“Not a serious policy solutionâ€
In his order Wednesday, Biden said “building a massive wall that spans the entire southern border is not a serious policy solution. It is a waste of money that diverts attention from genuine threats to our homeland security.â€
Former President Donald Trump told crowds at rallies that the wall was “like magic.†Border Patrol officials have said the wall will help slow down attempts to cross the border illegally and allow agents to cover more ground during their shifts. Agents have told the Star the roads that are part of the wall projects will help them quickly respond to incidents at the border.
“It stopped most older people and most younger kids. When they walk up and they see a 30-foot-high wall, it stops them,†Border Patrol Chief Rodney Scott told the Star last fall. “It doesn’t always stop the 22-year-old. It doesn’t always stop the super-agile. But you know what? Now it’s one (person),†instead of large groups crossing together.
Last week, Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, a Democrat whose district includes part of the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥-Mexico border, said the wall “has always been a vanity project and campaign chant rather than an effective security infrastructure project.â€
Since 2019, the Corps awarded $4.8 billion worth of contracts, paid for with Defense Department funds, to build 222 miles of wall in ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥. Another 23 miles of wall projects in ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ were funded by other means, including Congressional appropriations.
As of Jan. 15, contractors installed 226 miles of bollards on the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ border, according to Customs and Border Protection, leaving less than 20 miles still under construction. The Corps’ list of wall projects showed the installation of bollards was not complete as of early last week in areas near Sasabe, Nogales, Naco, the southeastern corner of ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ County and a small area near Yuma.
Beyond the steel bollards, the installation of sensors, lights, cameras and roads, which make up what federal officials often call the “border wall system,†is not expected to be complete for any project in ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ until the summer at the earliest, according to the Corps.
Shut down or wrap-up?
After Biden issued his proclamation, local residents and environmental advocates rushed to the border to ensure contractors were complying.
Migrants and human rights advocates are hopeful that U.S. immigration policies will change once construction of Donald Trump's border wall stops. On Wednesday President Joe Biden's first official act as President will be to sign an executive to immediately end the national emergency that Donald Trump declared on the border in February 2018 to divert billions of dollars from the Defense Department to wall construction.
Construction activity was shut down on Thursday, said Myles Traphagen, borderlands project coordinator for the Wildlands Network, who headed to a 4-mile wall project east of Nogales. No bollards had been installed yet in that project, he said.
John Kurc, a photographer who has spent months documenting the wall project in Guadalupe Canyon in the southeastern corner of ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ County, particularly the blasting of rock at construction sites, said the last blast he saw was on Wednesday morning.
Laiken Jordahl, borderlands campaigner at the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥-based Center for Biological Diversity and longtime critic of the wall, posted a video on Friday of a wall project across the San Pedro River in ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ County showing contractors had vacated the area.
Jordahl later posted a video showing activity at a wall construction site on the Coronado Memorial, a mountainous area a few miles west of the San Pedro River. Kurc said he saw “earthmovers all over the west side†of the memorial on Friday.
On Saturday morning, Melissa Owen, who lives near Sasabe, flew in a helicopter over nearby wall construction sites. As of 8:40 a.m. on Saturday, “they were actively carving through the mountains,†Owen said. She could not see any bollards being installed, but other construction work appeared to be continuing “as usual†with trucks, bulldozers, excavators and water trucks operating both to the east and west of Sasabe, she said.
The Star reached out to the Corps to clarify whether the work was normal wrap-up work at a construction site, which the Biden proclamation appeared to allow, or some sort of attempt to defy Biden’s order. Corps spokesman Jay Field reiterated a portion of the Corps’ statement from Thursday saying the only work that would be done over the next few days would be to prepare sites for the suspension of work.
“We are not installing any additional physical barriers,†Field said.
The owner of the contracting company building the wall near Sasabe did not respond to an inquiry from the Star on Saturday morning.
Project review coming
In addition to pausing construction, Biden’s order also ended the national emergency Trump declared in February 2019, which was used to divert roughly $10 billion from the Defense Department to wall construction. Another $5 billion came from congressional appropriations, according to CBP.
During the pause, Biden administration officials will conduct a “careful review of all resources appropriated or redirected to construct a southern border wall.†He directed officials to assess the “legality of the funding and contracting methods used to construct the wall.â€
The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments next month about the legality of diverting Defense Department funds after Congress denied the bulk of the Trump administration’s request for wall funding.
Officials can make exceptions to the pause in construction “to avert immediate physical dangers†or to ensure that funds appropriated by Congress “fulfill their intended purpose,†according to Biden’s proclamation.
Officials will develop a plan for the “redirection†of wall funding within 60 days. They must then “take all appropriate steps to resume, modify or terminate projects and to otherwise implement the plan.â€
The financial cost of canceling the contracts is not yet clear. The Associated Press quoted a Senate aide as saying fees would be negotiated with contractors, and the administration would seek to spend whatever’s left on related uses on the border, such as roads, lights, sensors and other technology.
Dinah Bear, a ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ resident who worked for Democrat and Republican administrations for many years on environmental law and policy, said her “immediate focus†was on making sure contractors comply with Biden’s order.
Photos: Monsoon Storm Washes out Border Wall Construction
U.S./Mexico border in the San Pedro River National Conservation Area
Rains from a monsoon storm that rolled through on Saturday August 1 buried much of the foundation work in mud for the construction of the U.S./Mexico border wall across the San Pedro River near Hereford, Ariz. Photos taken: August 3, 2020.
U.S./Mexico border in the San Pedro River National Conservation Area
Rains from a monsoon storm that rolled through on Saturday August 1, damaged a road used by Border Patrol and construction work at the San Pedro River near Hereford, Ariz. August 3, 2020.
U.S./Mexico border in the San Pedro River National Conservation Area
Rains from a monsoon storm that rolled through on Saturday August 1, damaged a road used by Border Patrol and construction work at the San Pedro River near Hereford, Ariz. August 3, 2020.
U.S./Mexico border in the San Pedro River National Conservation Area
A photo from June 24, 2016 shows vehicle barrier or "Normandy" type fencing lines the U.S./Mexico border in the San Pedro River National Conservation Area inside the Coronado National Memorial park in ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥.Â
U.S./Mexico border in the San Pedro River National Conservation Area
The photo taken on July 8, 2020 shows construction on the U.S./Mexico border fence over the San Pedro River in the San Pedro River National Conservation Area near Hereford, Ariz. Cement blocks are placed within a trench dug across where the river flows. Mexico is on the right.
U.S./Mexico border in the San Pedro River National Conservation Area
Rains from a monsoon storm that rolled through on Saturday August 1 buried much of the foundation work in mud for the construction of the U.S./Mexico border wall across the San Pedro River near Hereford, Ariz. August 3, 2020.
U.S./Mexico border in the San Pedro River National Conservation Area
Rains from a monsoon storm that rolled through on Saturday August 1 buried much of the foundation work in mud for the construction of the U.S./Mexico border wall across the San Pedro River near Hereford, Ariz. On the left is Mexico. August 3, 2020.
U.S./Mexico border in the San Pedro River National Conservation Area
Rains from a monsoon storm that rolled through on Saturday August 1 buried much of the foundation work in mud for the construction of the U.S./Mexico border wall across the San Pedro River near Hereford, Ariz. Debris from another storm is seen caught up in tree trunks on the Mexico side of the border. August 3, 2020.
U.S./Mexico border in the San Pedro River National Conservation Area
Rains from a monsoon storm that rolled through on Saturday August 1 buried much of the foundation work in mud for the construction of the U.S./Mexico border wall across the San Pedro River near Hereford, Ariz. August 3, 2020.
U.S./Mexico border in the San Pedro River National Conservation Area
Rains from a monsoon storm that rolled through on Saturday August 1 buried much of the foundation work in mud for the construction of the U.S./Mexico border wall across the San Pedro River near Hereford, Ariz. A pattern to flowing water is scene in the riverbed of the San Pedro River with the border of Mexico in the bakcground on August 3, 2020.
Future of border wall about to be handed over to voters
When voters cast their ballots in the Nov. 3 presidential election, they will choose between two strikingly different plans for the border wall in ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ and border security in general.
On one hand, the Trump administration plans to spend $15 billion to build hundreds of miles of 30-foot-tall wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, which includes filling gaps in the wall already standing in ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥. On the other hand, Joe Biden plans to stop building the wall and focus instead on beefing up screening technology at ports of entry and building surveillance towers in remote areas.
The border wall played a central role in President Trump’s campaign in 2016, and he continues to tout the wall at rallies across the country. He tells crowds, “It’s like magic†and is “working beyond our wildest expectations.†In response they chant: “Build that wall!â€
While Trump claims Biden and other Democrats want open borders, Biden accuses Trump of being obsessed with a wall he says “does nothing to keep Americans safe†and won’t stop smugglers from digging tunnels or flying drones across the border.
Biden told reporters in early August, “There will not be another foot of wall constructed in my administration.†Instead, he would put his efforts toward “making sure we use high-tech capacity to deal with it at the ports of entry; that’s where all the bad stuff is happening.†He has not said he would tear down the wall, but he likely would face intense pressure to do so if he is elected.
For voters in Wisconsin, Virginia and other states far from the U.S.-Mexico border, the presidential candidates’ comments may amount to little more than political rhetoric that prompts either cheers or groans, depending on the listener’s political perspective.
For Southern ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ residents, the vote on Nov. 3 will determine the future of the border wall and set the tone for how federal agencies spend billions of taxpayer dollars to address drug smuggling and illegal border crossings for at least the next four years.
To analyze what’s at stake, the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ spoke with border residents and Customs and Border Protection officials, reviewed court records and CBP statistics, and made two dozen trips to border wall projects since construction started in the summer of 2019.
Wall raises no shortage of opinions
Standing next to the wall, you have to crane your head back to see the top of it. The wall is made of steel poles, known as bollards, that extend 30 feet up from the ground. Each bollard is 6 inches wide and filled with concrete and rebar. To allow Border Patrol agents to see into Mexico, the bollards are separated from one another by 4 inches of space.
A wide steel plate is fitted to the top of the wall to make it more difficult to climb over. To deter tunnel digging, the concrete foundation of the wall extends 6 to 10 feet into the ground. Lighting and sensors help agents detect activity near the wall, and new roads will help them respond faster.
Most of the 190 miles of wall built so far in ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ replace head-high vehicle barriers or fencing that stands 10 feet to 18 feet tall. When construction is completed, ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ will have more than 230 miles of wall, at a cost of roughly $4.5 billion.
As the election nears, there is no shortage of opinions about the wall among residents of border towns, despite the wall taking a backseat to the coronavirus and other issues in the election season.
“Build the Wall and Crime will Fall,†proclaimed an electronic billboard near Wellton, a small town near Yuma about 25 miles north of where contractors built the 30-foot-tall wall behind a much shorter metal-mesh fence. In ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥, yard signs demand “No Border Wall,†and Tohono O’odham protesters carried banners calling for “No Wall on O’odham Land†after briefly stopping wall construction southwest of ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ last month.
The Star regularly receives calls and emails from readers who support or oppose the border wall, including a SaddleBrooke resident who said completing the wall can’t come soon enough, along with fully funding the Border Patrol. A ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ resident called the wall a blight on the landscape paid for with money stolen from the military. An Oro Valley resident said he was pleased to have the wall in place and that open borders were bad for America.
Brad Finn, a Vietnam veteran who has lived next to the border near the San Pedro River in ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ County since the late 1990s, said the border fence installed a decade ago “keeps us safe,†but he worried the new wall would block wildlife migrations.
“I’m not sure how the Mexican jaguars are going to get through, unless they get a key to the gate,†Finn said as he stood on a dusty road and watched a crane replace an 18-foot-tall wall panel with a 30-foot-tall panel.
The vehicle barriers being replaced closer to the San Pedro River let animals, and humans, easily cross the border. The new wall projects in the area will connect with fencing in Douglas and Naco to create a roughly 75-mile long barrier that will be virtually impossible for deer, bear, bobcats, mountain lions or any animal larger than a jackrabbit to cross.
“It isn’t like it was 20 years ago,†Finn said. Back then, only about four Border Patrol agents worked in the area each night, trying to catch large groups of people looking for work or hauling marijuana loads. Now, it’s closer to 40 agents each night looking for small groups in camouflage.
Standing in a hangar on Davis-Monthan Air Force Base surrounded by Customs and Border Psrotection helicopters and surveillance planes, Border Patrol Chief Rodney Scott said the new wall will prove effective.
“Any place we’ve ever installed border wall, it’s actually improved the ability of every individual agent to cover more border, to secure more border in their shift than they could without it,†Scott said.
Rather than an impenetrable barrier, the new wall intimidates some people from trying to cross the border and slows down those who take the risk, Scott said.
“It stopped most older people and most younger kids. When they walk up and they see a 30-foot-high wall, it stops them,†Scott said. “It doesn’t always stop the 22-year-old. It doesn’t always stop the super-agile. But you know what? Now it’s one (person),†instead of large groups crossing together.
Melissa Owen, who lives on a ranch near Sasabe where new wall is going up, said she supports border security, but the new wall is a “monstrosity†that is unpopular with her neighbors.
“Anyone who actually knows the situation here knows that heightened security at ports of entry, where most illegal substances come into the U.S., a sensible program of surveillance technology, and a sane and equitable immigration policy are the best answers to the ‘crisis on the border,’†Owen said.
During the last year of wall construction, far fewer families and children were stopped while crossing the border in remote areas, according to CBP statistics. That trend began before wall construction started in ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥, due largely to Trump administration policies cracking down on asylum seekers and the Mexican government stopping asylum seekers from reaching the U.S. border.
Border Patrol agents are catching more single adults trying repeatedly to cross the border, including 8,000 in September when 170 miles of wall had been built in ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥. CBP officials say this is the result of pandemic-related policies that involve quickly expelling Mexican migrants, who then turn around and try repeatedly to cross the border.
As for drugs, most hard drugs like meth, fentanyl and heroin are smuggled through ports of entry rather than through the desert where the wall is being built, as has been the case for decades, CBP statistics show. Marijuana, far and away the most common drug smuggled through the desert, plummeted in the last decade as the legal marijuana industry expanded in ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ and other states.
Curt Prendergast
Editor
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