The Department of Homeland Security says new segments of its smart-wall system are being built along the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona and Texas — marking the latest funding allocation for new border wall.
DHS says it's awarded five new contracts and a total of $3.3 billion to contractors building the so-called smart wall. It's a secondary barrier that the agency says will include roads, detection technology, cameras, lighting and a physical wall made out of steel bollards.
The federal government has spent $8 billion on the secondary wall project so far — part of larger immigration and border funding baked into the GOP-crafted tax and spending package.
In Arizona, Fisher Sand and Gravel is getting roughly $1.4 billion to build 19 miles of new wall and secondary wall and 136 miles of detection technology.
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The state Court of Appeals has rejected efforts to void a measure approved by voters in 2024 on immigration. -
Live cattle imports from Mexico were again halted after a more than year-long pause to protect against the New World screwworm. Now, the border is back open in Douglas. -
In the Sonoran Sky Islands region, one organization is working to bring back native species. But it’s running up against a lengthening border wall. -
A decision from the United Nations’ cultural preservation body, UNESCO, calls for a mission to the Sonora desert nature reserve to assess the impacts of the border wall. -
The investment goes toward modernizing the around 55 mile long stretch between the Lukeville-Sonoyta border crossing into Arizona and Puerto Peñasco, also known as Rocky Point.
