Trump is finally getting his 1st new border wall. Mexico still isn't paying for it.

New border wall in Texas
(Image credit: Screenshot/YouTube/CBS News)

"Nearly three years after President Trump took office, work is finally underway on one of his key campaign promises," Norah O'Donnell said on Wednesday's CBS Evening News. Reporter Mireya Villarreal looked at the first new border wall being constructed under Trump's watch, in Donna, Texas. The new section won't be completed until January 2021, she noted, and the initial eight-mile stretch will cost $167 million.

"All told, nearly $10 billion has been set aside from government agencies for wall funding — and that's a bill U.S. taxpayers, not Mexico, are footing," Villarreal noted. At least 78 miles of border fencing has been replaced since 2017, and the Trump administration is shooting for 80-90 miles of new wall over the next year or 18 months, a Border Patrol official told Villarreal, calling it an "aggressive" target.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.