Following the 2016 elections, Donald Trump became President of the United States, a position he held from 2017 to 2021. During these years, he promoted new measures such as tax reform, tax management international relations and the centerpiece of its program, the construction of a wall on the border with Mexico.

This latest project was one of the most controversial of his tenure as president, and even after being replaced by President Joe Biden, he continued to stress the need to finish the wall.

With his policy of zero tolerance towards illegal immigration, the Republican presidential candidate defends the construction of a barrier like a national security measure.

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How much wall did Trump build?

Many doubts arose during the election campaign about Trump’s ability to build and finance the wall legally. He declared the immigration issue a “national emergency” in 2019, allowing him to use The Pentagon finances the construction of the barrier.

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When Trump became president, barriers and walls already existed for hundreds of kilometersmuch of what his government built was a replacement or reinforcement of what already existed.

The result of his much-vaunted project was the construction of a few 450 miles of wall on the US-Mexico border, although only 80 miles were built from scratch.

Why Trump’s wall wasn’t finished

In 2021, Biden succeeded Trump as President of the United States, and he stopped the construction of the wall. The Democrat rejected Trump’s immigration policies and, even before becoming president, promised to stop construction of the wall, arguing that the real threats come from legal entries. So when Biden took office, he canceled the contracts to build the barrier.

There were other causes that slowed down the project, such as financial problems and resistance from border property owners who refused to build walls on their land.

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Could Trump’s wall be completed?

One of Trump’s big campaign promises during his 2024 presidential bid is continue to build the wallto “stop migration and protect the border”. Trump’s plans include “Operation Lone Star,” a project by Texas Governor Greg Abbott that aims to build 100 miles of wall before the end of 2026.

Meanwhile, the Democratic Party led by Kamala Harris has changed its immigration policies and may continue building the wall. Harris has previously explained that she knows the importance of border security and has promised to toughen her stance on it. Its objective is to Sign Border Security Act and Strengthen Controls to Reduce Fentanyl Traffickingwhich is his main concern.

To this is added that Andrés Manuel López Obradorthe former president of Mexico, said that if Trump returned to the presidency, he would not continue building the wall because “we understand each other very well.

The U.S.-Mexico border stretches nearly 2,000 miles and passes through four U.S. states. California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. Building a wall of this magnitude will cost billions, a huge budget allocation that faced resistance from Congress when Trump was president.

In order to build a border wall spanning this distance, the federal government should exercise eminent domain for parts of the border where there is a fence. This brought conflict between conservatives and Trump in the past, and he probably will again if he returns to the White House and takes up his pet project.