Mark Morgan, the acting commissioner of Customs and Border Protection (CBP), expressed confidence that the Trump administration would complete its goal of 450 miles of new border wall by the end of 2020.
During a Monday appearance on Fox News, Morgan confirmed that he strongly believes the administration will be able to complete its stated goal of 450 miles of new southern border wall in the run-up to the 2020 presidential election. The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees CBP and other immigration agencies, just celebrated its completion of 100 miles of new border wall Friday.
This completed goal, Morgan pointed out, was something opponents suggested wouldn’t be reached by January.
“Look, we had a lot of naysayers for many months saying we were never going to achieve this first milestone by January of this year of 100 miles — we’ve done just that. And I’d be remiss if I didn’t give a shout out to the Army Corps of Engineers who have been absolutely great partners in this, and I have no doubt — even with the lower court judicial activism, and the obstacles by Congress — by the end of 2020, we’re still going to have 450 miles of wall complete or well-under construction,” Morgan said Monday on “Fox and Friends.”
A construction crew works on a section of privately built border wall on Dec. 11, 2019 near Mission, Texas. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)
The interview came after Chad Wolf, the acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, visited Yuma, Arizona, on Friday to commemorate the completion of 100 miles of new border wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. The DHS chief — who was joined by Arizona GOP Sen. Martha McSally, the mayor of Yuma, and numerous Border Patrol officials — touched on how border walls reduce illegal crossings and help Border Patrol agents perform their duties.
Morgan, who has been leading CBP since July 2019, is also a major proponent of the border wall project, but previously has been hesitant to say whether the administration would reach its goal in time. Asked in December 2019, he said he wasn’t sure if the 450 benchmark could be made by the end of 2020.
The Trump administration has been plagued with continuing lawsuits by progressive and immigrant-right groups, opposition from Democratic lawmakers in Congress, and other obstacles that comes with government regulation and red tape. The roadblocks have proven President Donald Trump’s most coveted campaign pledge to be difficult. (RELATED: ‘Sure It Does’: Sanders Says Illegal Immigrant Labor Leads To Lower US Wages)
The CBP chief, nevertheless, appeared much more confident on Monday that the benchmark would be hit.
“Look I’m confident, there’s a lot of rhetoric out there, a lot of information out there — but again, I’m confident that our milestone, we’ve met this milestone, we’re going to meet the milestone of 450 by the end of 2020,” Morgan said. “And make no mistake, the American people need to understand, this isn’t just about a wall to stop the flow of illegal immigration. This is about a wall that’s going to help us impede and deny bad things and bad people coming into this country, like the drugs pouring in, killing thousands of Americans every year.”
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