Does anyone know the total length of the fence that is required?
Are there areas where the terrain itself is a sufficient barrier?
Unlikely that any terrain is sufficient with the right vehicle and supplies.
I’m surprised not to see more use of balloons.
Hot-air or just massed helium.
All they need is to be able to glide across the worst ravines while moving with the wind.
I’ve had a Rokon 2x2, amazing capability off-road.
“Does anyone know the total length of the fence that is required?”
DHS has had to analyze the crap out of each mile of the Southern border, for several pressing reasons:
1. For their own operational management. It is literally an ongoing life and death issue for them.
2. They must justify their budget requests to the OMB (Executive Branch) and CBO (Legislative Branch). Each has a wolf pack of accountants and analysts who will pick them apart with every imaginable criticism.
3. They were ordered by the the President (Executive Order 13767), during his first week in office, to build a barrier and develop a plan to achieve full operational control of the Southern Border.
The result of the analysis is that we need 1,100 miles of barrier.
About half of that is already funded (529 miles), and some more money will likely come next year.
Each segment is prioritized. The first 300-400 miles on the DHS priority list (border cities and the Rio Grande Valley), accounts for over 80% of current illegal immigrant traffic.
We currently have essentially three border barrier programs going, which use different priority criteria. DHS is funded by direct Congressional appropriation (about $1.4 billion/year). Military Counter-Narcotics ($2.5 billion this year), which is targeted against drug smuggling corridors); and Military construction funds ($3.6 billion this year) diverted under the emergency declaration, which is targeted in support of the Military’s mission to support DHS (which excludes direct law enforcement).
Even though everything being built is in areas where we will eventually need barrier, it is not all going strictly down the DHS priority list. Given that caveat, it is pretty much going down the priority list.
The three biggest areas for illegals - the Rio Grande Valley, San Diego, and Yuma; are all getting massively upgraded (essentially shut) under the existing funding. San Diego will be done in January.
Most of the mileage now funded will likely be completed by the end of next year (2020), but some of the contracts will likely extend well into 2021.
The President is asking for $8.6 billion next year (enough to essentially finish contracting the whole 1,100 miles needed). Congress is likely to appropriate the $1.4 billion in the baseline budget, for about 75 miles around Laredo (the last big urban gap left wide open). Then we will see if the President has more tricks up his sleeve to free up additional funding (likely).