Former Governor Chris Christie has been claiming former President Donald Trump only built 47 miles of ‘new wall’ at the U.S. – Mexican border during his presidency.
“Donald, I know it hurts to hear the truth. But you only built 47 miles of new wall, & Mexico didn’t pay for any of it. Not one damn peso. At this rate, it would take you nearly 110 years to completely finish the wall. You fail, you lie. Rinse & repeat,” the unpopular former governor who is polling below 2% in the 2024 race posted on Twitter.
However, a 2020 article published by USA Today debunks Christie’s false claim.
“On Sept. 1, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported that 307 miles of the border wall have been completed,” the article reports.
While it’s true Trump did not build as much ‘new wall’ as he wanted, he replaced over 300 miles of ineffective and dated barriers in key spots along the border. Those replacements can be considered ‘new wall’ as they replaced barbed wire fencing, railroad tie vehicle barriers and other less effective border security methods.
A Department of Homeland Security press release from 2020 details ‘400 miles’ of newly constructed border wall and fencing under Trump.
Under Trump, construction on the wall averaged 10 miles per week of completion.
The new border wall system was deployed in critical areas where frequent illegal crossings occur, including San Diego, El Centro, Yuma, Tucson, El Paso, Del Rio, Laredo, and Rio Grande Valley Sectors.
Approximately 338 additional miles were under construction or in the pre-construction phase when President Joe Biden pulled the plug. Those materials now lay rusting in the desert.
According to CNN, “When Christie says only 47 miles of “new wall” were built under Trump, he is referring solely to one category of wall construction – “primary” wall that was built in parts of the border where no barriers previously existed. (The final figure for that category is 52 miles, according to a federal report written two days after Trump left office and obtained by CNN’s Priscilla Alvarez; Christie’s “47 miles” figure is from the second-last federal report.”
CNN confirmed the 458-mile figure saying 286 miles were never finished under Trump’s plan after the Biden Administration canceled the project.
Christie’s claim is not accurate because old railroad tie fencing and barriers were replaced with 30-foot high steel fencing.