Trump Admin Greenlights $4.5 Billion ‘Smart Wall’ to Secure Southern Border
The Trump administration has approved $4.5 billion in funding to rapidly build out a new phase of border security infrastructure — including over 230 miles of physical barriers and 400 miles of cutting-edge “Smart Wall” technology across the southern border.
According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), ten new construction contracts were finalized in September under President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.” The law, signed in July, unlocked billions in funding for border protection, ICE staffing, and reimbursement for states overwhelmed by Biden-era border chaos.
The centerpiece of the Trump administration’s latest efforts is the “Smart Wall,” a layered system combining steel barriers with high-tech surveillance: waterborne barriers, lighting systems, surveillance cameras, and detection tools capable of identifying illegal crossings in real time. The wall’s purpose is clear — total operational control of the U.S.-Mexico border.
“For years, Washington talked about border security but failed to deliver. This President changed that,” CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott said. “The Smart Wall means more miles of barriers, more technology, and more capability for our agents on the ground. This is how you take control of the border.”
The new projects stretch from California to Texas, expanding upon several previously greenlit wall sections that had been halted or abandoned under the Biden administration.
The CBP emphasized that the Smart Wall’s strategic deployment depends on terrain, cartels’ known trafficking routes, and how quickly contracts can be completed. The overall strategy is not just to block illegal crossings but to ensure long-term surveillance and enforcement in regions where gaps have allowed cartel operatives and human smugglers to thrive.
Brandy Perez, a research assistant at the Heritage Foundation’s Border Security and Immigration Center, called the Smart Wall a symbol of sovereignty and a return to law and order.
“The Department of Homeland Security’s $4.5 billion investment in Smart Wall construction amplifies America’s inherent right as a sovereign nation to decide who legally belongs on U.S. soil and who does not,” Perez said. She noted that prior wall construction under Trump led to an 87% drop in illegal crossings in the Yuma sector and a 26% drop in narcotics seizures along the Rio Grande — evidence that “walls work.”
The administration is also touting record enforcement numbers. As of September, the U.S. saw the lowest number of border apprehensions in over 50 years — with no catch-and-release incidents in five months.
“Fiscal Year 2025 shows what happens when we enforce the law without compromise,” Scott said. “For too long, agents and officers were handcuffed by failed policies. Today they are empowered to do their jobs — and the result is the most secure border in modern history.”
The Smart Wall is now the backbone of Trump’s America First border agenda, aimed at preventing another crisis and ensuring the federal government — not cartels — controls the U.S. border.