The Trump administration is waiving environmental laws to build 10 new miles of border wall in San Diego, “an area of high illegal entry,” according to a Department of Homeland Security notice published in the Federal Register this week.
“It is necessary to waive certain laws, regulations, and other legal requirements in order to ensure the expeditious construction of barriers and roads in the vicinity of the international land border in the state of California,” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem wrote.
“The San Diego Sector is an area of high illegal entry where illegal aliens regularly attempt to enter the United States and smuggle illicit drugs, and given my mandate to achieve and maintain operational control of the border, I must use my authority under Section 102 of IIRIRA to install additional barriers and roads in the San Diego Sector.”
Section 102 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act authorizes Noem to waive laws such as the Endangered Species Act, Clean Water Act, and National Environmental Policy Act.
“President Trump is delivering on the mandate given by the American people to secure our southern border,” Customs and Border Protection Assistant Commissioner Hilton Beckham wrote in a statement to The San Diego Union-Tribune.
The new construction will include 7.6 miles of 30-foot-tall primary barriers topped with anti-climb features near Tecate, plus 1.3 miles of additional primary fencing east of the Tecate port of entry. Another 0.84-mile secondary barrier with vehicle gates is planned near Otay Mesa. The project will also upgrade more than 50 miles of existing border infrastructure, including lighting, cameras, utility shelters, and patrol roads.
The work is being funded through H.R. 1, also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which provides $46.5 billion through fiscal 2029 for border construction and maintenance, according to the Union-Tribune.
The new wall plan follows previous construction projects under Trump to close gaps and replace deteriorating fencing, including work at Friendship Park and Smugglers Gulch. Additional projects are underway or planned in Jacumba Hot Springs and other areas of the San Diego sector.
With a 95% drop in migrant encounters over the past year, Noem said “more can and must be done” to achieve “operational control” of the southern border — including enhanced barriers, roads, lighting, and surveillance technology.
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