Trump to Spend 66 Trillion Won Expanding Border Wall... Cameras and Sensors to Be Installed

Border Construction Continues from First to Second Term
Massive Budget of 66 Trillion Won Secured Last Year
Fewer Practical Barriers, but Controversy Remains

The U.S. administration under President Donald Trump will construct an additional border barrier spanning over 1,900 kilometers along the southern border shared with Mexico. Backed by a budget of approximately 66 trillion won secured last year, the administration plans to complete the border wall that was not finished during its first term.

U.S. President Donald Trump answered questions from the press before boarding Air Force One at Andrews Joint Base on the 11th (local time). Photo by AP Yonhap News

The New York Times (NYT) reported on August 10, analyzing U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data, that the Trump administration is planning to nearly double the initial border wall spanning about 680 miles, bringing the total to more than 1,360 miles. The new and replacement walls will stretch over 700 miles, with construction already underway or completed on at least 300 miles of this segment. Construction contracts that have already been issued total more than 33 billion dollars (46.7 trillion won).

An additional secondary barrier, to be installed behind the primary wall, will extend more than 500 miles. Sensors and smart cameras will be installed on the existing walls, and approximately 180 miles of vehicle barriers will be constructed in Big Bend, Texas. In southern Rio Grande, over 500 miles of water barriers featuring large floating buoys will be installed to prevent migrants from crossing the river.

The newly built segments of the primary and secondary walls will total at least 1,200 miles (about 1,930 km), making this the largest construction project pursued by the current administration. Although the entire project could take several years, the administration aims to complete the crucial primary wall by the end of next year.

The most notable difference in this project compared to Trump’s first term is the scale of the budget. The 47 billion dollars (about 66.4 trillion won) secured through the key policy legislation of President Trump last year exceeds the total budget the U.S. has spent on border barriers over the past 20 years combined. In the first term, about 450 miles of wall were completed, but most of it focused on replacing or reinforcing existing structures.

There has been some controversy as well. Critics point out that the sharp rise in illegal border crossings seen during the Biden administration has dropped significantly in recent years. According to the NYT, critics are questioning the necessity of deploying such a large budget to extend barriers even into rural areas despite the decrease in border crossers.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.