When President Donald Trump's first term ended in January 2021, he had made progress on his campaign's flagship promise to "build the wall" at the southern border and deter illegal crossings. But the controversial wall was still incomplete.
The wall is largely a mixture of concrete barriers and metal fencing at various points along the 1,933-mile-long U.S. border with Mexico. According to the CBP, around 654 miles of pedestrian or vehicle barriers currently exist along its Border Wall System.
Now, Trump is back in the White House and intends to make good on finishing the job. "America's sovereignty is under attack," said Trump's day one executive order declaring a national emergency at the southern border, unlocking powers and funds for the wall.
"This invasion has caused widespread chaos and suffering in our country over the last 4 years...This assault on the American people and the integrity of America's sovereign borders represents a grave threat to our Nation."
Some of Trump's opponents question both the effectiveness and value for money of his border wall proposals, and he faces legal hurdles around land ownership and the forced sale of property to the federal government in affected states such as Texas and Arizona.
Newsweek has emailed the White House press office for comment.
Armed with zeal and momentum in the early days of his second term, and Republican majorities in the House and Senate, will Trump finally finish his border wall this time around? Here's what some of those asked by Newsweek had to say.
Mayor Douglas Nicholls: Border Tech Still Needed—But Trump Will Finish the Job
I do believe President Trump will complete the wall system, as it has been effective in helping our U.S. Border Patrol agents control and manage illegal activity at the border.
The implementation of border wall technology is still needed in most locations, even in those areas that have the physical wall. These technologies are force multipliers that I believe President Trump supports.
Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh: Trump Faces Several Hurdles to Complete Border Wall
How much border wall will be constructed comes down to the resources that are allocated, either by Congress or through emergency order.
As part of some of his first executive orders, President Trump declared a national emergency which, in part, directs the Secretaries of Defense and Department of Homeland Security to add additional barriers.
And the Securing the Border order directs that all "appropriate action" be taken to establish physical barriers. Still, it is unclear where these barriers will be going, how much barrier will be built, and where the funding is coming from.
There are also logistical hurdles to constructing border wall. The U.S.-Mexico border is not a straight line and the various terrains including river, mountain, and desert all present challenges to construction.
There are also parts of the border line that intersect with Native American Reservations and the building of border wall requires additional negotiations with Tribal leaders.
While clearly a priority for this administration, there are several financial and logistical hurdles that must be overcome before additional construction of border wall takes place.
Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh is associate policy analyst on the U.S. Immigration Policy Program at the Migration Policy Institute.
John Yoo: Congress Is Key to Trump's Goal
My thought is that whether Trump completes the southern border wall will depend utterly on whether Congress agrees, because only Congress holds the purse strings and must pay for the construction of the wall.
Right now, looking at the votes on the Laken Riley Act, Trump may be able to get the funds from Congress this year that would allow him to complete construction by 2028.
John Yoo is distinguished visiting professor at the School of Civic Leadership, University of Texas at Austin, and Emanuel S. Heller Chair in Law at the University of California at Berkeley. He is also nonresident senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.
Dudley L. Poston, Jr.: Trump Will Get the Funds—But the Wall Won't Work
Yes, he will get the several billions of dollars in funds and support from Congress and the leaders of the border states to complete the wall.
But the point is not whether he will complete the wall during his second term. The question should be, when the border wall is completed, will the border wall work? And the answer is an unequivocal NO.
There are a lot of issues involved. A border wall won't reduce the number of undocumented immigrants in the U.S. and could well have the opposite effect. Plus, it won't stop drugs and contraband from entering the U.S.
Dudley L. Poston, Jr. is emeritus professor of sociology at Texas A&M University.
Todd Bensman: Trump Will Build the Wall and Make it Effective
Trump has promised his wall again, and I believe he'll follow through again as his wall has cleared past legal hurdles and he has the magical trifecta for the necessary wall-building appropriations.
But merely constructing the wall is not relevant without the right policies behind it.
Under Biden's catch-and-release policies, for instance, the greatest use of the wall was as shade for immigrants who crossed and waited for Border Patrol to come process them into the country, or as a handy structure to lean up against.
But with immediate expulsion now the policy, the wall and its detection technology slow immigrants so that they can be caught and detained and expelled, or channels them into the waiting arms of Border Patrol agents who will immediately detain or expel them.
With that policy in place, the wall Trump builds will do much more than provide shade on a hot day to immigrants turning themselves in for fast release into America.
Todd Bensman is national security fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies.
Vanda Felbab-Brown: Trump Is Highly Determined and Radically Different This Time Around
President Trump comes to office still highly determined to complete the construction of the border fence or wall. And this time around, his officials know far better how to overcome legal obstacles, even though significant logistical challenges remain.
What is radically different from his first administration is the specter of mass deportations, and the slate of measures being put out to effectuate that, such as punishing local police officers who do not participate in the roundups of unauthorized migrants.
Dramatically limiting all migration to the United States, not just migrants without authorization, remains a core priority of Donald Trump.
Newsweek