DHS approves project to fill border wall gaps, replace gates 

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas authorized several projects along the southern border wall, including filling in gaps and replacing gates. 

The projects approved will be funded with DHS’s Fiscal Year 2017, 2018, and 2021 appropriations from Congress, according to Fox News. The work will take place in sections in California, Arizona, and Texas, including parts of the San Diego, Yuma, El Centro, El Paso, and Rio Grande Valley sectors. 

Projects include gates underneath bridges to deal with the hazardous river waters that have killed many immigrants making their way to the U.S. and train gates to address safety risks posed to agents and migrants due to train operations. 

In the Rio Grande Valley sector, the busiest sector for immigration, 17 gates will be added. Furthermore, other work will be done in places "that currently makes it difficult for Border Patrol Agents to efficiently access certain areas and for first responders to respond to incidents."

In California, a barrier will be replaced, which “has not been properly treated to withstand corrosion from nearby ocean waters and currently poses safety risks to Border Patrol Agents, community members, and migrants."

Near the Tijuana border, a gap will be closed by constructing a vertical lift gate system over the Tijuana river. 

Border Wall Update:
Support is coming! Gaps & Gates approved by DHS:
•San Diego Friendship Circle
•San Diego Tijuana River
•El Centro Train Gate
•El Centro New River
•Yuma Hill Gap Closure
•El Paso Train Gate
•RGV Access Gates
More:https://t.co/iMwz58ZANN pic.twitter.com/vXcUi3utYj

— Chief Raul Ortiz (@USBPChief) June 1, 2022

In an attempt to crack down on illegal immigration, the Trump administration built around 450 miles of wall between the U.S. and Mexico. However, the Biden administration halted the project, calling it ineffective. 

"Wall construction along the Southern border in recent years is just one example of the prior Administration’s misplaced priorities and failure to manage migration in a safe, orderly, and humane way," the White House said last year.

The Biden administration announced that it would divert the funds meant for the border wall back to the Pentagon and use that money to address safety and environmental issues instead. 

Yet as more and more immigrants try to make their way to the U.S., DHS called for congress to fund “smart border security measures… that are proven to be more effective at improving safety and security at the border.”