Brandon Bell/Getty Images
The Trump border wall was one of the most iconic and controversial promises of Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.
Trump famously pledged to build a “big, beautiful wall” along the US-Mexico border to curb illegal immigration and drug trafficking, declaring that Mexico would pay for it.
This promise became a rallying cry for his supporters and a point of fierce opposition from critics.
However, despite Trump’s insistence on the wall’s necessity, the project was mired in challenges from the start.
Now, as Donald Trump emerges as the president-elect after winning the 2024 election, the border wall has notably disappeared from his list of campaign priorities.
When Donald Trump took office in January 2017, he quickly signed an executive order to begin construction on the border wall. However, the reality of turning this campaign slogan into a concrete structure proved to be far more complex. The original plan was to erect a barrier stretching 1,000 miles along the nearly 2,000-mile southern border.
Yet, by the time Trump left office in January 2021, only about 450 miles of barrier had been built — much of which replaced or reinforced existing structures rather than creating entirely new walls.
One of the major hurdles Trump faced was securing funding for the wall.
Despite his repeated claims that Mexico would foot the bill, this never materialised. Instead, Trump had to turn to Congress, where he encountered significant resistance, particularly from Democrats who viewed the wall as ineffective, costly, and emblematic of Trump’s hardline immigration stance.
The standoff between Trump and Congress reached its peak in late 2018, leading to the longest government shutdown in US history, lasting 35 days.
Trump eventually declared a national emergency in February 2019 to reallocate funds from the Pentagon and other sources to finance the wall. This move was met with legal challenges and accusations of executive overreach, further stalling progress.
In addition to funding issues, the border wall project was plagued by legal battles over land acquisition. Much of the land along the Texas border is privately owned, requiring the federal government to seize it through eminent domain — a process that was both time-consuming and politically sensitive. Property owners, environmentalists, and Native American tribes mounted legal challenges, arguing that the wall would disrupt ecosystems, infringe on property rights, and desecrate sacred lands.
These legal entanglements, combined with environmental concerns, meant that the wall’s construction was often reduced to a slow, piecemeal effort. The Biden administration, which took over in January 2021, immediately halted further construction, redirecting funds to other border security measures.
Even where the wall was built, its impact was limited. Reports from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and independent studies suggested that while the wall did deter some forms of illegal crossings, it was not a comprehensive solution. Many migrants found ways to circumvent the wall by tunnelling underneath, using makeshift ladders, or simply going around it through remote areas.
Furthermore, drug trafficking, which Trump cited as a major reason for the wall, continued largely unabated. The majority of illegal drugs entering the U.S. were smuggled through legal ports of entry, hidden in vehicles rather than carried by individuals crossing the desert on foot.
Fast forward to 2024: Donald Trump has once again won the presidency, securing a historic comeback after losing his re-election bid in 2020. But notably missing from his recent campaign was any mention of the border wall — a striking contrast to his rhetoric in 2016. This shift raises questions about what happened to Trump’s once-signature promise and why he chose to omit it this time around.
There are several potential reasons for this silence. First, the challenges and controversies surrounding the wall may have made it a liability rather than an asset. The project became a symbol of unfulfilled promises and government dysfunction. Even among Trump’s base, there is a growing recognition that the wall, as envisioned, was not the silver bullet solution to immigration that it was once touted to be.
Additionally, the political landscape has shifted. While immigration remains a hot-button issue, the conversation has evolved, with greater focus on high-tech solutions, visa reform, and cooperation with neighboring countries. Trump’s 2024 campaign leaned more heavily on issues like inflation, crime, and U.S.-China relations, which resonated more with voters concerned about the current state of the economy and international tensions.
With Trump set to take office in January 2025, it remains to be seen whether he will revisit the border wall project. The political dynamics are different now, with a Republican-controlled House but a narrowly divided Senate. If Trump decides to push for renewed wall construction, he will still face significant obstacles, both legal and logistical.
However, Trump’s silence on the wall during his recent campaign suggests that he may have shifted focus. Instead of doubling down on an expensive and divisive project, he may opt for other immigration measures that can be implemented more swiftly and with less controversy. There are rumours that Trump’s team is exploring the possibility of leveraging technology for border security, such as drone surveillance and AI-powered monitoring systems.
The saga of the Trump border wall is a cautionary tale of how a bold campaign promise can collide with the realities of governance. What began as a simple, powerful symbol of Trump’s hardline stance on immigration ended in a mess of unfinished construction, legal battles, and unfulfilled expectations. As Trump prepares to take office once again, the absence of the wall from his campaign suggests that he has learned from past mistakes — or at least, that he’s chosen to shift his focus to issues with more immediate voter appeal.
The border wall may no longer be at the forefront of Trump’s agenda, but the questions it raised about immigration, national security, and executive power will continue to shape American politics for years to come. Whether Trump will revisit this promise or leave it behind as a relic of his first term remains one of the many uncertainties of his upcoming administration.
Related: Trump nominates vaccine skeptic to run the Department of Health and Human Services
