White House says more than 85 miles of new border wall under construction

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said more than 85 miles of border wall is being constructed, as the administration touts its success at reducing illegal immigration.

She said the new border wall is in “various stages of construction and planning.”

Another 75 miles of temporary barriers have been deployed across the border in Texas, she told reporters at a briefing Monday.

“Even the border wall saves lives,” border czar Tom Homan said at the briefing. “People want to hate on the border wall — every place a border barrier has been built, illegal immigration has declined, illegal drug flow has declined.”

He said the border wall saves women and children — “the most vulnerable” — because they can’t get over the wall, and instead must cross the border where there is no wall, where they encounter immigration officers “who will take care of those humanitarian needs.”

During President Trump’s first term, he boasted that he would build a border wall and have Mexico pay for it. Out of more than 450 miles Mr. Trump claimed to have built in his first term, the Government Accountability Office said only 69 were fully completed.

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Ms. Leavitt said Monday that Mr. Trump has “made it clear” to Congress that more funding is needed for border wall construction, as well as more support for Immigration and Custom Enforcement and border patrol agents.

Mr. Homan said Mexico has paid for the wall “in a roundabout way.”

“Putting 10,000 military on the southern border, taking the action they did, ’remain in Mexico,’ they didn’t have to do that, but they’re doing it. Putting military on the southern border has moved immigration to a record low,” he said. “We’re saving millions of dollars every day on detention, transportation, removal proceedings.”

He said the U.S. has “more than made up for the cost of that wall because of the actions of Mexico.”

“So is Mexico helping build that wall? Yeah, because we’re saving so much money, millions of dollars a day, that we can afford to build that wall,” he said. “Actually, yes, they’re helping to build that wall.”

• Stephen Dinan contributed to this story.