The Pentagon announced construction costs were lower than expected, permitting expansion of border barriers in New Mexico, Arizona and California. | Cedar Attanasio/AP Photo immigration Pentagon authorizes 20 additional miles of border wall

The Defense Department on Tuesday said it would authorize construction of roughly 20 additional miles of border fence, roads, and lighting in Arizona and California.

The Pentagon said in a court filing that due to “lower-than-expected contract costs” it would be able to construct the additional barriers with money left over from a pot of $2.5 billion that was redirected to the border from a counter-drug fund. The administration previously said the funds would cover roughly 100 miles of border fence in New Mexico, Arizona and California.


The funds are part of a broader effort by President Donald Trump to redirect $6.7 billion to border wall construction after Congress denied a similar request earlier this year. Trump declared a national emergency in February to access $3.6 million from a military construction fund. At the same time, he sought to move $2.5 billion from a Pentagon counter-drug fund and $600 million from a Treasury Department drug forfeiture fund to build a wall.

The Supreme Court in late July allowed the administration to proceed with a plan to use the $2.5 billion from the counter-drug account, a major victory for the Trump administration. The order reversed a decision weeks earlier by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals that allowed a lower court’s injunction to remain in place.

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DOD has yet to transfer the $3.6 billion in military construction funds toward the border. Neither that pot of money nor the Treasury funds were addressed in the lower court’s injunction or subsequent rulings.

Despite the temporary Trump win, the border wall emergency continues to be challenged in federal court.

A federal judge in El Paso, Texas, will hear oral arguments Thursday in a separate challenge over the emergency fund transfer. The hearing stems from a lawsuit filed in February by the county of El Paso and a local advocacy organization. The plaintiffs claim Trump overstepped his authority when he redirected the money.