Portions of nearly 30 federal statutes are proposed to be waived to hasten the construction of a border wall in southern New Mexico.
What is known as a notice of determination has been published in the Federal Register announcing Department of Homeland Security plans for the construction, which will span the breadth of the state.
The notice, as directed by DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, calls for waiving statutes pertaining to archaeological preservation, and environmental and wildlife protection.
In so doing, work on the project would see work taking place in an “area of high illegal entry where illegal aliens regularly attempt to enter the United States and smuggle illicit drugs.”
In posting the notice, Noem wrote that she was taking “all appropriate action to deploy and construct physical barriers to ensure complete operational control of the southern border of the United States.”
Noem additionally asserted that she was carrying out a Congressional mandate to “provide for the installation of additional fencing, barriers, roads, lighting, cameras, and sensors” as part of the border control effort.
Although the Federal Register posting notes that illegal border crossings have been substantially reduced in the last nine months, it bluntly states: “More can and must be done.”
October 9, 2025
By Garry Boulard
