DHS' goal to finish border wall in 2027 runs up against obstacles
The closer you look at Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin’s declaration that the border wall will be finished by this time next year, the harder it is to make the numbers work.
DHS has only completed 10% of its planned primary wall. It will have to navigate construction lawsuits, negotiate with (or sue) private citizens for land access and finalize contracts and designs — all while minimizing the delays that slow big construction projects.
There are about 698 miles of primary border wall left to build, according to a Customs and Border Protection spokesperson, along with public agency data that tracks wall construction from CBP and the Department of War.
The pace would need to increase to more than 13 miles a week to finish on Mullin’s self-declared timeline.
The primary wall construction rate for most of 2026 has been roughly 2.6 miles per week.
The fastest reported increase in completed primary border wall was an additional 4 miles built between June 5 and June 10. If CBP kept this pace for the next year, it could build about 292 miles of wall.