The southern border is nearly 2,000 miles long with about 650 miles of different types of barriers that go up to 30 feet high. Most of the fencing was built during George W. Bush’s administration, and was repaired as needed by President Obama’s.
Trump has only replaced existing fencing without adding any new sections following the schedule as set by the Obama administration.
The section Trump visited on Friday’s trip is what had replaced an existing two-mile section of fence with work having begun in 2009.
As Air Force One approached the Southern Border at Calexico, California, Trump tweeted,
“Will soon be landing in Calexico, California to look at a portion of the new WALL being built on our Southern Border. Within two years we will have close to 400 miles built or under construction.”
With the work on the 30 foot high slatted fence having begun under Obama, it is neither new nor is it a wall, and, just as with much of what Obama had done, this is another example of what if the Trump administration has not undone it takes credit for, as Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen marked the section with a plaque bearing Trump’s name.
The plaque reads,
“This plaque was installed on October 26, 2018, to commemorate the completion of the first section of President Trump’s border wall.”
Mr. Trump has yet to complete any new mileage of fencing or other barriers anywhere on the border.