Wuhan Coronavirus Isn't Shutting Down Construction of the Border Wall

Katie Pavlich | April 21, 2020 4:45 PM

As officials in the federal government work with their state counterparts to battle the Wuhan coronavirus, construction on the nation's southern border is continuing.

Last week the Department of Homeland Security issued a waiver for border wall assembling to move forward.

"The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued a waiver, which will ensure expeditious construction of approximately 15 miles of new border wall system, consisting of five non-contiguous segments in locations where no barriers currently exist, within the U.S. Border Patrol's (USBP) Rio Grande Valley (RGV) Sector in Starr County, Texas," U.S. Customs and Border Protection released in a statement. "CBP continues to implement President Trump's Executive Order 13767 – also known as Border Security and Immigration Enforcement Improvements – taking steps to expeditiously plan, design, and construct a physical wall using appropriate materials and technology to most effectively achieve operational control of the southern border."

Last week, new border wall construction reached 150 miles.

"According to CBP statistics, 156 miles of new primary and secondary border wall system have been constructed since January 2017. Of that, 140 miles of primary and 11 miles of secondary wall replaces old or dilapidated wall. It means that there are a total of 656 miles of primary barriers and 42 miles of secondary barriers at the border when including those built before President Trump took office," Fox News reports.