Border Security Updates from the Department of Homeland Security
The Department of Homeland Security has been using equipment at the border that remains under wraps, as revealed by Secretary Markwayne Mullin during a discussion with Breitbart News.
In conversation with Washington Bureau Chief Matthew Boyle on Tuesday, Mullin outlined the differing approaches to border security taken by the Biden and Trump administrations. He described a dual focus on addressing issues at the border and within the interior of the country.
“Regarding the border wall, we’re currently building it at an unprecedented pace. It took a while to restore the infrastructure. Many materials had been sold off, and a contractor backed out. There were also legal threats in California to prevent workers on the wall from participating in state contracts, necessitating court intervention,” Mullin explained, acknowledging ongoing challenges.
“However, now that we have access to the land, progress has been made. The primary wall extends from the Pacific to the Gulf of Mexico, comprising water barriers, land barriers, and a smart wall equipped with technology. This allows us to identify individuals crossing based on their gait and weight, which helps us determine their number,” he added, mentioning the use of drones for tracking border crossers as well.
Moreover, Mullin stated that there’s equipment at their disposal that he cannot disclose.
“In certain areas where people might funnel in, we have some non-lethal equipment that I can’t elaborate on, but it’s effective enough to capture attention,” he shared, which he referred to as part of the primary wall.
He noted that the secondary wall is planned to be positioned about 120 feet away from the primary wall, though various land issues—particularly with differing political state regulations—restricts some areas to just 60 feet. This is primarily impacted by the Roosevelt Reservation, which applies everywhere except Texas.
“The intention is that having a secondary barrier would provide us with more time to react when the first wall is being breached. We observed that cartels have quickly learned to use plasma cutters to breach the wall and facilitate crossings,” he said, emphasizing the necessity of this additional wall to slow incursions and enhance border agent response times.
He further stated that the secondary wall presents increased challenges for anyone attempting to get through.
“We also constructed a road between the primary and secondary walls, enabling rapid response. We’ve increased wall heights from 18 to 30 feet, making it much harder for individuals to scale them. While people might jump from 18 feet, few would dare drop from 30 feet. This changes the situation significantly,” he remarked, underlining the current high level of border security.
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