DHS Issues Waiver for Border Wall in Texas

U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary

WASHINGTON (News Release) -  U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has signed a waiver to ensure the expeditious construction of approximately five miles of new 30-foot-tall border wall in Starr and Hidalgo Counties in the U.S. Border Patrol’s Rio Grande Valley Sector in Texas.

These miles will be built as part of an existing border wall contract that is already under construction, utilizing U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Fiscal Year 2019 appropriations. This is the seventh waiver signed by Secretary Noem for border barrier construction projects along the southern border.

Currently, CBP has approximately 100 miles of new border barrier in various stages of construction and planning, funded with appropriations from prior years. In addition, CBP was appropriated $46.5 Billion for border barrier system construction in the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1)”, which was signed by President Trump on July 4, 2025.

These funds will be used to construct a combination of primary and secondary border wall, waterborne barriers, patrol roads, and the technology required to tie it all together, such as cameras, lights, and sensors. This will provide agents with the intel and situational awareness required to respond to illegal activity, as well as the access and mobility and impedance and denial attributes needed for a successful interdiction.

The Secretary’s waiver authority allows DHS to waive any legal requirement, including environmental laws such as the National Environmental Policy Act, to ensure the expeditious construction of physical barriers and roads. Projects executed under a waiver are critical steps to secure the southern border and reinforce our commitment to border security. The waiver was issued pursuant to Section 102 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996.