Border Wall Builds 50 Miles, Still Less Reliable Than Grandpa’s WiFi
KEY POINTS
- •Rodney Scott told Congress that the U.S. built 50 miles of primary wall and 5.5 miles of buoy barriers since last summer.
- •Contract delays, including reviews on spending over $100,000 by then-Secretary Kristi Noem, stalled progress earlier this year.
- •Communities near Big Bend are actively resisting construction due to environmental and archeological concerns on private and public lands.
In a masterclass of snail-paced construction, Customs and Border Protection's Rodney Scott proudly reported 50 miles of border wall built, outpacing buoy barriers (5.5 miles) and secondary walls (13.2 miles), all on a $46 billion budget that's somehow under budget. Contracts were delayed by big-spending watchdog Kristi Noem's $100k review rule, grinding the project like your grandma's dial-up modem. Congress pumped cash last summer, finally breaking the bureaucratic Rubik’s Cube. Meanwhile, Big Bend locals stage an epic 'Not on My Archeological Site' movement, fearing their drinking water and open lands as if the million-dollar concrete will turn their cactus ghosts into zombies. Representative Henry Cuellar says border crossings dropped without a single foot of wall or buoy—so this wall may just be the world’s priciest placebo, defended by Scott as a long-term money saver, despite deploying 11,000 'Department of War' personnel who basically babysit America’s backyard.
Share the Story
(1 of 3)The border wall is so slow and overpriced, it might as well be a beachfront property. 3.5 miles a week beats a snail but costs us enough to buy Cuba twice.
Building 3.5 miles of wall a week on a $46 billion budget sounds like Congress also hired a turtle as project manager.
Turns out local resistance and $100k spending freezes make the border wall progress feel like dial-up internet in 2026.
Source: Axios | Published: 4/16/2026 | Author: Brittany Gibson
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