How Many Years It Took Nearby to Build a Wall Again

Biden stopped building Trump's wall. Hither'due south what it looks like now

Story by Ed Lavandera, Ashley Killough and Catherine E. Shoichet, CNN
Video by Dave Ruff, Gregg Canes, Joel De La Rosa and Madeleine Stix, CNN

Updated 2132 GMT (0532 HKT) April xxx, 2021

Patagonia Mountains, Arizona (CNN)Once there was a bustling structure zone hither. Now information technology's like a ghost town, frozen in fourth dimension.

Heavy machinery is parked and motionless. Stacks of steel bollards stretch as far as the eye can meet.

The Trump administration built more than 450 miles of fencing along the US-Mexico border -- including hundreds of miles of replacement fencing and 52 miles of structure where there were no barriers earlier. The wall became a focal point of his presidency, a staging basis for political rallies and a symbol of the administration'due south controversial clearing crackdowns.

On the campaign trail, President Biden vowed non to build another foot. And he swiftly halted structure in one case he took office.

A big question nonetheless hasn't been answered, months into his presidency: What will happen at sites where structure was underway?

Fencing currently covers 706 miles of the ane,954-mile The states-Mexico border. We recently visited 4 locations forth that stretch where wall construction had started, simply has been paused since Biden became president.

So far, the new administration isn't saying what volition happen next in any of these places.

But people who live and work in the area have a lot to say about what they want to see.

Here's what we saw, and what they told us:

Stop ane: The view from the end of the route

This is virtually equally far equally the border wall construction got nearly 15 miles east of Nogales, Arizona, in the Patagonia Mountains. What you meet now is a path carved through a pristine desert mural.

It'due south a scene that's all likewise familiar to environmental activist Laiken Jordahl. A old park ranger, he'southward spent the concluding four years campaigning against the border wall in these remote areas of Arizona.

Hither's how he describes the landscape:

Customs and Border Protection has said border wall projects went through "Environmental Stewardship Plans" to analyze and minimize the environmental impact, including studies of how wildlife may be affected past the projects.

Jordahl says he's seen enough.

Terminate 2: Tire tracks in the dirt, but no activity to be found

At Coronado National Memorial in Arizona, the tire tracks in the dirt are a reminder of the heavy structure equipment that was here just a few months agone.

Back in December, crews were feverishly working to finish erecting a stretch of wall here.

At present, the roads nearby are a blocked off, so we tin can't get shut enough to run across what they built.

But this much is clear: The landscape in the area has already changed dramatically.

Stop 3: A scarred mountainside and a half-built wall

At Guadalupe Canyon, construction crews were decorated at piece of work the terminal time nosotros visited. All you could hear were the sounds of heavy mechanism, construction crews and explosive detonations blasting into the mountains. At present, it'southward eerily quiet.

Structure has stopped. And you tin come across a scarred mountainside, a one-half-built wall and massive amounts of steel -- seemingly abased. Now remnants of quondam steel border barriers are blocking access to the new wall.

For Jordahl and other anti-border wall activists, the question is, how do you lot repair a mount that now looks like this?

Stop 4: A scene 1 sheriff calls 'foolish'

In Del Rio, Texas, Val Verde County Sheriff Joe Frank Martinez took united states to what's supposed to be a two-mile stretch of border wall. So far, but a few hundred yards have been built.

Construction equipment is yet on site. Deep trenches are dug out.

You can however see the smaller fence that used to guard this stretch of border. And that did the trick, Martinez says. Crime, burglaries and theft went downwardly as the structure rerouted smuggling activity and gave Border Patrol agents more time to respond. Merely at present that this new structure -- a taller, 30-foot fence -- is half-built, the sheriff hopes it will be finished.

And there'south one thing he knows he doesn't desire to meet: all the fencing existence taken down -- an idea some critics of the edge wall have suggested.

In 1 of his get-go deportment every bit President, Biden ordered a pause on wall construction and called for a review of projects and a plan to redirect funds within sixty days. Customs and Border Protection, in coordination with the US Army Corps of Engineers, says that to comply with the President's proclamation it's suspended wall construction projects "except for activities that are rubber related."

The 60-day review period ended more a month ago. But pressed for answers on its border wall plans in recent days, the Biden assistants hasn't said much.

"Federal agencies are continuing to review wall contracts and develop a plan to submit to the president soon -- it is -- information technology is paused," White House printing secretary Jen Psaki recently told reporters.

On Friday, the assistants appear information technology's taking steps to send billions of dollars back to the Pentagon, canceling all contracts on the border that used funds originally intended for military missions and functions.

The administration's latest funding asking to Congress includes $one.ii billion for edge infrastructure, only no boosted funds for wall construction.

CNN's Ed Lavandera, Ashley Killough, Dave Ruff, Gregg Canes and Joel De La Rosa reported from the US-Mexico border, CNN's Catherine E. Shoichet reported from Arlington, Virginia and CNN's Madeleine Stix reported from New York. CNN'southward Priscilla Alvarez contributed to this study.

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Source: https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/30/us/border-wall-construction-stopped/index.html

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