Vice President J.D. Vance confirmed President Trump's plans to finish a wall along the entire U.S.-Mexico border by the end of his second term - as the chief of Border Patrol touted a new construction project halted by Biden.

Pentagon Secretary Pete Hegseth and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard accompanied Vance on the trip to Eagle Pass, Texas. Trump has singled out border security as a top national security priority, directing the Pentagon on day one of his presidency to establish "operational control."

“I think the president’s hope is that by the end of the term we build the entire border wall,” Vance said during the visit.

“And of course that’s the physical structure, the border wall itself,” Vance noted.

Trump resumes wall project

During his first term, Trump built 450 miles of border wall. There were hundreds of miles left to be built when President Biden came into office and halted construction.

Trump's Border Patrol chief, Michael Banks, highlighted the installation of new 18-foot border wall panels in Hidalgo County. Biden had canceled the project.

"The panels going in today will replace the six-foot guard rails and will provide impedance and denial capabilities in support of the President’s recent Executive Orders to ensure complete operational control of the Southern border," Banks wrote on X.

Back in Business!

USBP began installing 18-foot-tall border wall panels in the Rio Grande Valley Sector’s Hidalgo County today. These panels were originally planned for installation during the prior Trump Administration, but the contracts were cancelled by the Biden… pic.twitter.com/0XGF3OrOQV

— Chief Michael W. Banks (@USBPChief) March 5, 2025

New president, new reality

Biden's permissive policies ushered in a historic influx of aliens that led to chaos across the country. After just a few weeks of Trump's hardline messaging and policies, the border has gone quiet again.

In February, Trump's first full month back in the White House, encounters fell to 8,300, the lowest level recorded since the year 2000. The February numbers also represent a 94% drop compared to February 2024, when there were 140,641 encounters at the border.

Biden, in his final days as president, attempted to sell off unused border wall materials, sparking a legal battle with Texas. Trump moved swiftly to resume border wall construction after returning to the White House in January.

In his recent speech to Congress, Trump boasted about his results at the border as he criticized Democrats' excuses for the chaos under Biden.

While Democrats said new legislation was required, "all we really needed was a new president," Trump said.

While the border is under control again, the Trump administration has struggled with meeting the president's ambitious deportation goals. Trump has asked Congress to provide more resources to help carry out the largest deportation in U.S. history.