The Trump administration has announced the construction of a new seven-mile stretch of border wall in Arizona, coinciding with reports of a dramatic 95 percent decrease in illegal border crossings compared to the previous administration.
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem revealed the new construction project during a visit to the Arizona border on Sunday. Noem appeared at a location where the existing border wall ends in a video shared on her X account.
“Everybody, I’m here in Arizona, and right at this spot, you can see where the border wall ends,” said Noem, who was wearing a US Border Patrol baseball cap and jacket.
“As of today, we’re starting 7 new miles of construction, we’re going to continue to make America safe again.”
The announcement comes as the administration reports significant progress in border security during President Trump’s first 50 days in office.
Illegal border crossings have decreased by 95 percent compared to numbers recorded during President Joe Biden’s tenure, according to Noem.
Daily encounters with migrants have reportedly dropped to some of the lowest figures since Border Patrol began tracking such statistics.
“Just recently, we saw less than 200 encounters in a day. That’s remarkable. Now our agents can get back to doing their jobs and enforcing the law instead of processing,” Noem told NewsNation in an interview on Saturday.
The Secretary visited Nogales in Santa Cruz County, Arizona, an area previously known as a major route for cartel smugglers who used the vast open desert to traffic people and drugs across the border from Mexico.
Reports indicate illegal crossings in this region have fallen to levels not seen since 1967, the New York Post reported.
Noem attributes the decrease to stricter enforcement policies under the Trump administration and the resumed border wall construction. She noted that Mexican cartels are becoming “more desperate” in response to the increased border security measures.
“They recognize that we’re enforcing our federal laws, that we’re not letting people just walk across the border anymore. We are building a wall, we are securing our borders, and we’re not going to let this illegal activity continue,” she said.
The administration also reports significant progress in immigration enforcement operations.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has arrested more than 32,000 people since Trump took office in January, according to Noem, nearly matching the total number of ICE arrests made under the Biden administration throughout all of 2024.
Noem highlighted some of the smuggling methods intercepted by border officials on Saturday.
“Fentanyl hidden in watermelons. Humans smuggled in trucks. Meth concealed in charcoal. You name it, our Customs and Border Protection field officers are finding it,” she wrote on X, adding, “Proud of the work our officers are doing to keep America safe at Nogales Port of Entry.”
The construction of the new border wall segment represents a continuation of one of Trump’s signature campaign promises from both his 2016 and 2024 presidential campaigns.
During his first term, the Post reported that approximately 450 miles of border barriers were constructed or replaced, though critics argued that much of this consisted of upgrading existing structures rather than building entirely new sections.
The renewed focus on physical barriers comes alongside other border enforcement measures implemented since January, including more restrictive asylum policies and increased deportation operations. Administration officials have repeatedly cited these combined efforts as responsible for the dramatic drop in illegal crossings.
