I know virtually nothing about Federal laws but i do know concrete, and i can honestly say this...
Whats missing is actual coverage of wall construction going on right now. Not just one section of razor wire going up but trucks hauling the steel panels or just the beams, the trenching equipment, the cranes, the concrete mixers.
It is happening, the media just doesn’t want to report on it because it makes Trump look good: fulfilling his promises.
There are videos out there
Trump had a couple
Try this one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Odnndq_GOUY
There has been serious tall fence construction going on along the border since Trump took office. Much of it was built as “repair/replace” existing fence. To understand what has been taking place google pictures of various old border fence, especially vehicle barriers and compare to recently built fence. There is no comparison so to me it is definitely replacement of old with totally new fence. Is it a wall? Depends on the definition of wall.
The new fence I am familiar with has several feet of concrete underground with tall metal panels attached. President Trump has himself backed off of a solid cement wall structure- early on when Border Patrol told him they needed to be able to see through any border barrier for their safety and to do their job more effectively. A Border Patrol spokesman said his definition of a wall is a serious see-through fence structure, with road for patrolling, along with technology. He said that combination is a wall to him. That definition is good enough for me, but may not be with others. Using that definition of a wall there has been many sections built since President Trump took office, in fact it has been continual progress in different areas of the border. There was/is a section planned near Yuma, Arizona that is to begin in March/April.
There are many articles, videos, photographs of the ongoing fence/wall building that has been taking place. There may be jobs in progress right now, but the ones I am familiar with recently ended with completed contracts.
I have lived on the border for decades and I can tell you every piece of serious fence has been a fight to get. Where I live our border fence right now is barb wire cattle fence. I would be very pleased to have the type of border fencing in our area that has been built in other areas since Trump took office.