Border Fence Project Surpasses 500-Mile Mark Pedestrian, Vehicle Fence Installed Along the Border in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas + Fact Sheet

The Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced today that fence construction along the southern border has surpassed the 500-mile mark.

As the result of a comprehensive operational analysis, the U.S. Border Patrol determined the need for tactical infrastructure – including fencing, patrol roads, and lighting – at locations along the U.S.-Mexico border in order to impede illegal cross-border activity. CBP has worked diligently to meet the Congressional mandate and the department’s goal to build roughly 670 miles of fencing.

CBP’s Secure Border Initiative (SBI) Program Management Office (PMO) oversees the deployment of technology and tactical infrastructure construction at the border, which was authorized by the Secure Fence Act of 2006. The SBI program was established by the department in early 2007 to carry out the Congressional mandate. SBI program efforts remain focused on infrastructure, the development and deployment of surveillance technology on both the southern and northern borders, and the funding of carrizo cane eradication research in Laredo, Texas.

Fence Facts as of December 12, 2008
Total Miles of Completed Pedestrian Fence: 278

* California – 91.3 miles
* Arizona – 127.8 miles
* New Mexico – 14.2 miles
* Texas – 44.6 miles

Total Miles of Completed Vehicle Fence: 248

* California – 19.8 miles
* Arizona – 151.6 miles
* New Mexico – 76.2 miles
* Texas – 0.04 miles

SBI bases infrastructure projects on the recommendations of Border Patrol leadership and frontline agents informed by decades of experience on the geographically diverse southwest border. Since May 2007, CBP has conducted extensive discussions with state and local stakeholders, including landowners, about fence placement. As part of these outreach efforts, CBP has contacted more than 600 landowners, residents, and officials through town hall meetings, community open houses, and a door-to-door campaign to ensure that the local perspective was heard.

Securing our nation’s borders requires a combination of tactical infrastructure, technology, and personnel. In addition to efforts to build physical barriers, CBP has deployed an unprecedented number of unmanned aerial vehicles, cameras, sensors, radar, and infrared equipment and has exceeded the goal of hiring and deploying more than 18,000 Border Patrol agents.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation’s borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.”

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