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Fact check: How has the Biden administration altered or continued Trump's border wall construction plans?
Executive Summary
The Biden administration has authorized and awarded roughly $4.5 billion in contracts to build a so-called “Smart Wall” on the southwest border, funding projects that federal announcements say will add about 230 miles of physical barriers and nearly 400 miles of integrated surveillance and detection systems [1] [2]. Coverage from October 10–17, 2025 shows consistent reporting that this represents a continuation of Trump-era construction goals, albeit framed by officials as a modernization with technology and different procurement authorities [1] [2] [3].
1. A big contract buy that reads like continuation — but with tech spin
Federal announcements in mid-October 2025 describe a major procurement effort to expand barriers and surveillance, repeatedly using the “Smart Wall” label and enumerating mileages and funding amounts, which aligns with Trump-era promises to build more border fencing but emphasizes integrated technology and detection systems [2] [1]. The same statements tie these awards to specific legislative and budget tools—mentioning the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and carryover Fiscal Year 2021 appropriations—suggesting the administration is using existing funding authorities to advance long-standing construction objectives rather than initiating wholly new policy pathways [2].
2. Geography and scope: Where contractors will build this time
News summaries indicate the awarded contracts cover multiple border states — California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas — with ten construction contracts reportedly targeting those sectors of the southwest border [4]. The public figures most often cited are about 230 miles of new barrier and nearly 400 miles of associated surveillance infrastructure, numbers that agencies provided in their October announcements and that multiple outlets repeated, conveying a tangible, nationwide footprint compared with previous, more localized construction phases undertaken during the prior administration [1] [2].
3. Funding mechanics: Carryover money and new legislative framing
Reporting clarifies that these contracts are being executed using a combination of carryover FY2021 dollars and authorities tied to the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB), which federal officials and media accounts say enabled DHS and CBP to obligate substantial sums for construction and technology procurement in 2025 [2] [3]. This funding approach underscores continuity in financial pathways from the Trump era while showing the current administration’s willingness to rely on previously appropriated funds and newly framed legislative language to pursue large-scale border projects [2].
4. Legal and environmental flags raised in contemporaneous coverage
Observers and reporting in mid-October noted that massive construction contracts have been accompanied by statutory waivers that bypass certain environmental and regulatory reviews, a mechanism historically used for rapid wall construction and now reported as part of these awards, prompting concerns about ecological and community impacts along the border [5]. Coverage from October 17, 2025 documents the use of waivers and highlights potential consequences, signaling that while the administration framed the work as modernization, the implementation still leverages legally potent tools with notable social and environmental implications [5].
5. Divergent framings: security delivery vs. policy continuity
Media and agency language offered two recurrent frames: one stressing enhanced security and modernization through sensors and integrated systems, and another portraying the awards as a continuation — or partial fulfillment — of the Trump administration’s construction agenda, effectively delivering on promises about securing the border [1]. This dual framing appears across October reporting and reflects differing institutional and political priorities: DHS/CBP emphasize capability upgrades, while other outlets and analysts underscore policy continuity and the political significance of completing or expanding physical barriers [1] [3].
6. What the current coverage leaves unanswered and why it matters
Contemporaneous reports provide concrete contract totals and mileages but leave several operational and accountability questions open, including exact construction timelines, projected completion dates, contractor identities, and the scope of judicial or congressional oversight tied to waivers and funding choices; those absences limit public ability to assess long-term costs and environmental remediation obligations [2] [5]. The October reporting therefore supplies headline metrics and program framing but omits granular program management and legal challenge trajectories that would shape the ultimate scope and permanence of the projects [4].
7. Bottom line synthesis: modification through modernization; continuation in practice
Taken together, October 10–17, 2025 coverage across the cited reports shows the Biden administration continuing substantial wall construction in practice by allocating $4.5 billion and pursuing hundreds of miles of barriers, while modifying the pitch toward integrated technology and “Smart Wall” procurement. The action resembles a policy hybrid: it sustains the Trump-era objective of expanded physical barriers while emphasizing technological upgrades and relying on prior funding authorities and waivers to accelerate work — a blend of continuity in output and modification in rhetoric and capability emphasis [1] [4] [2].