Trump has put up 39 miles of wall on 2,000-mile border

Only a small fraction of the 2,000-mile wall President Trump vowed as a candidate to build on the U.S.-Mexico border has gone up since he took office more than two years ago, according to a document the defense agency overseeing construction provided to Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D.

Exactly 39.8 miles of wall — technically steel bollard fence — have been installed along the southern border since January 2017, for an average of 1.7 miles per month.

"The Corps has told our office that they have completed construction on 39.8 miles using FY17 appropriations funding, and that additional projects using FY18 funding are underway," a representative for Hoeven's office wrote in an email to Washington Examiner.

However, earlier this month, the Defense Department agency overseeing construction told Trump 82 miles had been completed by his administration.

“We have put in the ground over 82 miles that is up to date. And then, right now, by the end of this year, we’ll have another 97 miles that will go in," Army Corps of Engineers Lt. Gen. Todd Semonite told Trump during a visit to Calexico, Calif., April 5.

The Washington Examiner asked the Army Corps to clarify how many miles of wall it has put up over the past 23 months, but the corps said only Customs and Border Protection could provide the figure.

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