Rep. Vasquez Condemns Administration’s Plan to Build Wasteful $1.6 Billion Border Wall in NM’s Remote Bootheel

WASHINGTON, D.C.- On January 6, 2025, U.S. Representative Gabe Vasquez (NM-02)was notified by U.S. Customs and Border Protection that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) had awarded a $1.6 billion dollar contract to Fisher Sand & Gravel Co. to construct a 49-mile border wall in an incredibly remote stretch of New Mexico's Bootheel in Hidalgo County.

"This Bootheel border wall project is the absolute definition of waste and will do nothing to make our country safer," said Vasquez. "The border is home for me, so believe me when I say that American taxpayers will get zero return on their investment if DHS pursues this plan to build a $1.6 billion dollar border wall in one of the most rugged, remote stretches of the U.S.-Mexico border. To secure our border without wasting Americans' money, DHS should skip the physical wall and instead invest in smart border security technologylike autonomous towers and aerostats that act as an effective force multiplier in these remote areas."

During a House Armed Services Committee hearingin June 2025, Rep. Vasquez confronted Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth for his blatant lack of knowledge about the U.S.-Mexico border, despite the Administration's growing involvement and massive spending in the region.

WATCH THE JUNE HEARING HERE

The funds for this project stem from the $150 billion dollar "blank check" granted to DHS under H.R. 1. For months, Rep. Vasquez has been leading Congressional calls for accountability and oversight to ensure DHS allocates funds in a manner that prioritizes public safety, efficiency, and American values, rather than just filling the pockets of federal contractors. In September 2025, Rep. Vasquez led a letterto Secretary Noem demanding transparency, outlining detailed spending recommendations, and stressing the need for smart investments - such as technology to fight illegal activity and cartels' use of drones at the border, better training and mental health support for border agents, and oversight mechanisms to prevent abuse.

Per an email from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Bootheel border wall construction plan includes a 49-mile "primary border wall system" and a duplicative "60 miles of secondary barrier" nearby for the "installation of detection technology."

On January 8, Rep. Vasquez's staff visited the Bootheel border wall construction area - stretching from Border Monument 1 to Border Monument 49 in the U.S. Border Patrol's El Paso Sector per a recent entry in the Federal Register- and confirmed that on-the-ground preparations for the project were underway, including the construction of a dirt roadto make the area more accessible by vehicle.

"It's ironic that by building roads that lead right to the U.S. border in New Mexico's Bootheel, the Administration is actually making it easier for folks to enter our country illegally," added Rep. Vasquez. "Republican lawmakers claim they can't find the money to protect Americans from skyrocketing health care costs, but they are willing to waste $1.6 billion dollars in taxpayer money to build a border wall in the middle of nowhere."

"The CDT Southern terminus has stood as a quiet beacon for travelers along the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail for decades. The impending changes to the region will permanently alter the scenic and natural character of not just the southern terminus of the CDT, it will alter the entire region," said Teresa Martinez, Executive Director and Co-Founder Continental Divide Trail Coalition, in response to the planned Bootheel border wall construction project. "Until now, the southern terminus has served as an honored destination and point for reflection at either the beginning or end of a monumental journey: a space for appreciation, prayer, and solitude. The future planned developments for a border structure in the region will change that experience. It will also create unavoidable barriers for any migrating wildlife and will alter these open spaces for future generations, even among the most vast and remote wild lands of the Continental Divide."

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