The Trump administration is shifting its border wall focus from procuring resources to breaking ground on new construction after securing funds for 1,000 miles of new wall along the southern border, White House officials tell the Daily Caller.
The fiscal year 2021 budget requests fewer funds for border wall construction than in previous years, but a senior White House official explained how the administration has “now shifted from securing funds to being able to build more wall.”
cting CBP Commissioner Mark Morgan said in January he expects to meet President Donald Trump’s goal of erecting 450 miles of new border wall construction by the end of 2020, and the White House maintained that optimism Sunday.
“On the border, there’s great news to report,” the official told the Caller. “The president has kept his promise to secure the border. With funding available, the administration will build up to approximately 1,000 miles of border wall along the southwest border.”
“The 2021 budget request, which has increases for infrastructure, technology, and law enforcement personnel, is what’s required to gain operational control of the border.”
According to White House officials familiar with the fiscal year 2021 proposal, the budget request for Customs and Border Patrol jumped to $15.6 billion, up roughly 7 percent from last year’s enacted total. Immigration and Customs Enforcement also saw a significant budget bump, with a funding request just shy of $10 billion.
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