U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), in partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), has awarded three contracts to construct up to approximately 65 miles of new border wall system within U.S. Border Patrol’s (USBP) Rio Grande Valley (RGV) Sector located in Starr, Hidalgo and Cameron Counties in Texas. The border wall system will include an 18-30 foot tall steel bollard wall, all-weather roads, lighting, enforcement cameras, and other related technology to create a complete enforcement zone. Construction is anticipated to begin in early 2020, pending availability of real estate, and will take place in locations where no barriers currently exist.
On September 29, 2019 a contract to construct up to approximately 21 miles of new border wall system located within Starr County, Texas was awarded to Southern Border Constructors for the base contract amount of $120,412,400. The total contract value, including options, is $257,808,800 The project area begins west of Falcon Dam Port of Entry and extends eastward, in five non-contiguous segments, which will connect to other new border wall segments.
On September 29, 2019 a contract to construct up to approximately 22 miles of new border wall system located within Starr and Hidalgo Counties, Texas was awarded to Southern Border Constructors for the base contract amount of $110,022,700. The total contract value, including options, is $258,085,400. The project area begins east of the Rio Grande City Port of Entry and extends eastward, in two non-contiguous segments, which will connect to other new border wall segments.
On September 29, 2019 a contract to construct up to approximately 22 miles of new border wall system located within Cameron and Hidalgo Counties, Texas was awarded to Gibraltar-Caddell Joint Venture for the base contract amount of $155,269,992. The total contract value, including options, is $296,709,805. The project area begins east of the Pharr Port of Entry and extends eastward, in 12 non-contiguous segments, which will connect to other new border wall segments.
These projects are not undertaken pursuant to the National Emergency Declaration, 10 U.S.C § 284, 10 U.S.C. § 2808, or any other source of funding available to the Department of Defense.
The projects are not located in any of the communities that require additional consultation with local Starr County elected officials per CBP’s FY 2019 appropriations. Additionally, based on language in the FY 2019 appropriation, border wall construction will not take place at the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge, La Lomita Historical Park, Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park, within or east of the Vista del Mar Ranch tract of the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge, or the National Butterfly Center.
RGV is the busiest Sector in the nation and accounts for approximately 40% of the illegal alien apprehensions and, for the FY to date, ranks first in seized cocaine and marijuana along the southwest border. The majority of its activity is occurring in areas where RGV has limited infrastructure, access and mobility, and technology.
CBP continues to implement President Trump’s Executive Order 13767 – also known as Border Security and Immigration Enforcement Improvements – taking steps to expeditiously plan, design, and construct a physical wall using appropriate materials and technology to most effectively achieve operational control of the southern border.
These projects will improve the RGV Sector’s ability to impede and deny illegal border crossings and the drug and human smuggling activities of transnational criminal organizations.
