Trump has not built a single mile of new border fence after 30 months in office

The Trump administration has not installed a single mile of new wall in a previously fenceless part of the U.S.-Mexico border in the 30 months since President Trump assumed office, despite his campaign promise to construct a “big beautiful wall.”

In a statement last week, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the federal agency overseeing border barrier construction, confirmed that all the fencing completed since Trump took office is "in place of dilapidated designs" because the existing fence was in need of replacement.

The agency said that it had built 51 miles of steel bollard fence with funding that was set aside during fiscal 2017 and 2018. But while the funding was meant both to replace outdated walls and to place barriers where there previously had been none, the government has only completed the replacement projects. The projects to secure areas with no fence are still in the works....

A second senior official defended the progress the administration's progress and blamed Democrats in Congress for blocking funding for additional projects the White House has tried to move on.....

Roughly 700 miles of the 2,000-mile border has some sort of barrier as a result of the Secure Fence Act, which was passed by Congress during the George W. Bush administration. It was the first major piece of legislation that funded the construction of barriers along the southern border....

The Trump administration actually has completed a few miles of wall:

Completed Section of Trump’s New Wall Helping Secure Border, Say Agents, Breitbart, July 23, 2019.

DHS: 52 Miles of Fresh Wall Completed — But No New Sections Yet, Breitbart, July 27, 2019.

Video: Massive, 15-Mile Border Gap in the Imperial Valley, Ca