The fencing market across the United States is projected to reach around $11.5 billion by the year 2024. If the U.S. Senate’s new spending bill for the Department of Homeland Security is passed, a large chunk of that projection — $1.6 billion, to be exact — will stem from a single project.
According to The Hill, the Senate has proposed a bill for pedestrian fencing along the southern border of the United States. Specifically, the plan is to install fencing that will completely cover 65 miles across the Rio Grande Valley.
In late June, President Trump met with Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, to discuss the issue of border security.
“He wants more robust funding,” Capito said. “We want more robust funding. But we have to look at it as a border system, and we talked about that a lot with him, so I would characterize his response as frustrated that it’s not higher, but we’re telling him and we believe that this is part of a process and we need his support because we’re on the same team.”
When it comes to residential fencing, there are different jurisdictions that could require the fence to be installed either two, four, six, or eight inches away from the neighboring property line. A 65-mile fencing project for border security, on the other hand, could involve a lot more legal and ethical complications.
Capito and Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby released a joint statement about the new fencing bill:
“Our highest priority is securing the U.S. border. The Senate bill puts a major down payment on the larger efforts underway to pass immigration reform and secure funding for border security.”
