GovPlanet, the government-surplus auction house that sold unused U.S.–Mexico border wall components following President Joe Biden’s 2021 halt to construction, said it has reached an agreement with the Trump administration to return the materials to federal custody. The company, a unit of Canada-based Ritchie Bros., will transfer tens of thousands of steel bollards, panels and structural tubing—valued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at between $260 million and $350 million—to a third-party contractor over the next 90 days. GovPlanet said the hand-back will occur "at cost," contending the move protects taxpayers’ prior investment in the project. Former ICE director Tom Homan, now serving as the administration’s border czar, negotiated the arrangement as part of a broader push to resume wall construction. The reversal follows legal challenges and a December 2024 court order that temporarily froze further auctions after critics said the sales disposed of federal assets for pennies on the dollar. Returning the materials could accelerate efforts to extend physical barriers along the southern border, a signature initiative of former President Donald Trump that was paused on Biden’s first day in office. The White House did not detail how many additional miles could be built once the components are redeployed.