Photo: Alamy
Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott said on Tuesday that the Trump administration expects to complete the primary southern border wall system by the end of 2027.
Speaking at an event hosted by the Center for Immigration Studies in Washington, Scott said the reinforced metal barrier along the U.S.-Mexico border would stretch from San Diego to the Gulf of Mexico, with limited exceptions in remote terrain.
“The primary border wall will be done by the end of 2027,” Scott said.
He noted that some areas, including Big Bend National Park, would not require physical barriers due to difficult terrain.
“The only places we’re not building a border wall is places where we’ve made a conscious decision that we don’t need it,” Scott said. “Big Bend National Park, for example, super remote area, some very, very high cliffs.”
Scott said the wall system would also include electronic surveillance equipment and other security technology expected to be installed by mid-to-late 2028.
According to Scott, portions of the border along the Rio Grande will include additional physical barriers and water-based security measures.
“We’ll have the entire system to include a secondary barrier in places we need it, the water barrier and the Rio Grande River, and the technology,” he said.
The Trump administration has argued the wall is necessary to reduce illegal immigration, narcotics trafficking and cartel activity along the southern border.
Scott acknowledged, however, that criminal organizations continue adapting their tactics through the use of tunnels, drones and surveillance technology.
“We’d see the drones flying along the Rio Grande River watching and videotaping where all our guys are,” Scott said. “That is their business model, and drones definitely make it easier. They’re also smuggling narcotics across with drones.”
The border wall remains one of the signature policy initiatives of Donald Trump and has continued expanding during his second term as the administration prioritizes immigration enforcement and border security.
