Noem Speeds Up Border Wall Construction At Places Like ‘Smugglers Gulch’

The Trump administration is fast-tracking wall construction along a critical section of the U.S.-Mexico border, the latest move by the White House to prioritize immigration enforcement.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is waiving environmental restrictions in order to expedite the construction of roughly 2.5 miles of border barrier between California and Mexico, according to a notice published Tuesday on the Federal Register by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. The announcement marked the first environmental waiver used to fast-track border wall construction during President Donald Trump’s second term in office.

“There is presently an acute and immediate need to construct additional physical barriers and roads in the vicinity of the border of the United States in order to prevent unlawful entries into the United States,” Noem said in the notice, citing the high number of border crossings in the San Diego area in 2024.

“In order to ensure the expeditious construction of additional physical barriers and roads in the project area, I have determined that it is necessary that I exercise the authority that is vested in me,” Noem continued.

The waiver will expedite border wall construction in the San Diego area, with a DHS announcement specifying that it will apply to roughly two miles of the San Diego Sector (SDC) Jacumba Gap Wall project, about 350 feet of the SDC Smugglers Gulch Project and another 600 to 1,500 feet of the SDC Wall Project.

Border wall construction, a hallmark of Trump’s first term in the White House, has remained a top priority in his second administration. On his first day back in the Oval Office, Trump signed an executive order declaring an emergency at the southern border, allowing more resources to be diverted to the area and undoing a previous executive order by President Joe Biden that gutted funds for border wall construction.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in March awarded its first border wall contract of Trump’s second term, doling out more than $70 million to construct roughly seven miles of new border wall in Hidalgo County, Texas.

Since returning to office, migrant encounters along the southern border have fallen to levels never before recorded in U.S. history.

Border Patrol agents counted roughly 7,180 crossings along the U.S.-Mexico border during March, according to the latest figures released by CBP. Daily southern border apprehensions dropped during this time to around 230 per day, a figure the administration says is the lowest ever recorded.

“Acting under President Trump’s Executive Orders, Secretary Noem is taking bold, decisive steps to secure the southern border and achieve full operational control,” DHS announced Tuesday. “To cut through bureaucratic delays, DHS is waiving environmental laws — including the National Environmental Policy Act — that can stall vital projects for months or even years.”

“This waiver clears the path for the rapid deployment of physical barriers where they are needed most, reinforcing our commitment to national security and the rule of law,” DHS continued.