Has the US-Mexico border wall been fully completed as of November 2025?
Executive summary
Available reporting shows the U.S.–Mexico border wall was not "fully completed" as of November 2025: federal agencies and multiple news outlets describe ongoing construction, new contracts, waivers and large new funding to build additional miles rather than a finished continuous barrier [1] [2]. Congress approved $46.5 billion for wall construction in July 2025 and agencies reported dozens to hundreds of miles planned or under contract, including projects in Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and California—but coverage documents gaps, active projects and local pushback [2] [3] [4].
1. Ongoing construction and recent funding—big money, unfinished work
Congress in mid-2025 approved a large appropriation tied to the president’s priorities—reported as $46.5 billion—to accelerate wall construction, and the administration says sizeable new mileage is funded and being planned or built [2] [3]. But those funds represent a plan to add sections and close “gaps”; they do not mean the entire international boundary is now walled. Customs and Border Protection’s public "Smart Wall" material distinguishes “Completed” mileage since January 20, 2025, from the long-standing existing barrier inventory, underscoring that construction is ongoing rather than finished [1].
2. Local contract awards, project roll-outs, and remaining work
Reporting shows contracts and awards through 2025 that cover discrete stretches: ten contracts totaling roughly $4.5 billion for segments outside Laredo, and plans for roughly 108 miles along the Rio Grande in Webb and Zapata counties, with other contracts and tenders in New Mexico, Arizona and California [2]. At the same time, multiple sources note only tens or low hundreds of miles are under construction or in planning at any given moment—not a continuous wall across ~2,000 miles of border—making “completion” an inaccurate description of the program’s status [2] [3] [4].
3. Agency statements and the “Smart Wall” accounting
CBP’s Smart Wall map and materials explicitly separate existing barrier mileage—about ~702 miles of primary wall and ~76 miles of secondary wall that predate January 20, 2025—from new “Completed” miles since that date and from projects “Under Construction,” signaling an incremental approach rather than a single completed project [1]. CBP also notes large segments will instead be covered by detection technology where terrain or remoteness makes a physical barrier impractical, further indicating the aim is a mix of infrastructure and technology rather than walling the whole border [1].
4. Legal waivers and speed-ups do not equal a finished barrier
The Department of Homeland Security issued waivers in 2025 to expedite roughly 36 miles of work in Arizona and New Mexico and similar waivers in California, and DHS said these actions would “close critical gaps” [4] [5]. Waivers accelerate specific projects—but reporting shows these apply to targeted stretches and are part of many discrete actions rather than signifying system-wide completion [5] [4].
5. Visual and on-the-ground reporting: gaps still visible
Photo essays and field reporting in late 2025 continue to document places where the steel fence “ends abruptly” or where new segments are being built amid open crossings and wildlife passages—journalistic evidence that continuity remains lacking in many locations [6]. Local officials in border cities such as Laredo reported receiving plans and notices only as specific projects are proposed, reinforcing that construction is being rolled out piece-by-piece [2] [7].
6. Competing perspectives: administration vs. local and advocacy voices
The White House and CBP frame the program as rapid progress—citing specific miles under contract or funded and the $46.5 billion appropriation—while local officials, conservation groups and visual reporting emphasize remaining gaps, community opposition and environmental and logistical limits to a continuous barrier [3] [2] [8]. Conservation organizations and visual reports highlight ecological impacts of existing and new segments, showing that the debate over whether to extend or finish the wall is not only political but also environmental [8].
7. Bottom line—what “fully completed” would mean and what sources show
If “fully completed” means a continuous physical barrier along the entire U.S.–Mexico boundary, available reporting and federal accounting indicate that was not the case in November 2025; instead, federal funding, waivers and contract awards were expanding construction but leaving many segments planned, under construction, or covered by non-physical measures [1] [2] [4]. Sources document specific miles funded and under contract, active work in multiple sectors, and visible gaps—so the accurate characterization for November 2025 is: extensive building underway, but not a finished, unbroken wall [2] [1].