Overview

• New construction includes 7.6 miles of 30-foot primary barrier between Otay Mesa and Tecate, 1.3 miles east of Tecate, and a 0.84-mile secondary barrier near Otay Mesa.
• CBP will also upgrade and maintain about 51.5 miles of existing systems with roads, lighting, cameras, and utility shelters.
• The work draws on H.R. 1 appropriations that provide CBP $46.5 billion through fiscal 2029 for construction and maintenance.
• DHS cites San Diego’s history of illegal entry and drug smuggling to justify the waiver, even as recent sector encounters fell 95% year over year in August.
• Conservation groups, including the Center for Biological Diversity, denounce the waiver and are weighing litigation, while earlier San Diego projects such as Smuggler’s Gulch have been completed.