White House says border wall will ‘substantially be done’ within the year

After years of setbacks, President Donald Trump is on track to build more than 450 miles of a wall along the southern border within the year, the White House says.

“The project will substantially be done by the end of the year or early next year,” Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and senior adviser, said: “That was a promise, and it’s important that it’s now being accomplished.”

Since invoking an emergency declaration, the Trump administration has diverted enough money in 2019 and 2020 to build the wall in four locations along the Mexican border where most immigrants from Latin America cross into the United States, a White House official said.

Kushner said construction had been completed on 122 miles of wall as of the 14th February. The border between the United States and Mexico spans nearly 2,000 miles.

Speaking at the White House, Trump touted the reductions in border crossings. In a meeting with members of the Border Patrol Council, the labor union for agents, he said areas where the wall has been erected are “virtually 100 percent effective.”

“Illegal border crossings have dropped eight straight months in a row — that’s a big number,” he said. “Illegal crossings are down over 75 percent since last spring. And this is despite the fact that we have the strongest economy in the history of the country.”

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