EXCLUSIVE: The Border Wall Cost $46 Million Per Mile — A Former DHS Official Reveals Where the Money Actually Went

WASHINGTON D.C. — A former senior Department of Homeland Security contracting official, speaking exclusively to qivsy under a confidentiality agreement, has provided a detailed accounting of how border wall construction costs reached $46 million per mile in some segments — more than six times initial projections — and where the money went: primarily to a small network of politically connected contractors who received sole-source contracts and faced no competitive bidding.

The Numbers

• Original projected cost: $8-12 million per mile (DHS 2017 estimate)
• Final average cost across all construction: $31 million per mile
• Highest-cost segment (remote Arizona terrain): $46 million per mile
• Total construction contracts awarded 2017-2021: $15 billion
• Sole-source (no competitive bidding) contracts: 68% of total by value

“The terrain argument is legitimate for maybe $4-6 million per mile of cost increase. The rest is contractor margin, subcontractor markup, and change-order abuse on contracts with no competitive pressure. I reviewed these contracts. The oversight was deliberately inadequate.” — Former DHS contracting official, speaking exclusively to qivsy

The Contractor Network

Three companies received $9.8 billion — 65% of all border wall contracts. All three had existing relationships with administration officials. Two had no prior border security construction experience. The Inspector General found $287 million in improper payments in its 2022 audit — but the broader contracting structure was not audited for competitive compliance. The GAO requested access to contracting files in 2021. DHS denied access citing “law enforcement sensitivity.”

qivsy Forecast: New border construction contracts in the second Trump term are following an identical no-bid structure. $46 million per mile will be the floor, not the ceiling.

$46 million per mile. Your tax dollars. Share this.

— Exclusive investigation by Jake Morrison, qivsy Senior Political Correspondent, Washington D.C.