DHS Issues First Waiver to Speed Up Border Wall Construction

It would allow for 2.5 miles of border barrier construction outside of San Diego.

Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem (2nd R) during a tour along the Nogales border wall at the Mariposa Port of Entry in Nogales, Ariz., on March 15, 2025. Alex Brandon/AFP via Getty Images

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem has issued a waiver for border wall construction in southern California between the United States and Mexico.

The waiver, issued on April 8, is the first of the current administration. It will allow for 2.5 miles of border barrier construction outside of San Diego.

“To cut through bureaucratic delays, DHS is waiving environmental laws—including the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)—that can stall vital projects for months or even years,” the department said in the statement announcing the measure.

“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.”

Some environmental advocacy groups, such as Earthjustice, have criticized the decision.

“Waiving environmental, cultural preservation, and good governance laws that protect clean air and clean water, safeguard precious cultural resources and preserve vibrant ecosystems and biodiversity will only cause further harm to border communities and ecosystems,” said Cameron Walkup, an associate legislative representative for Earthjustice, in an April 8 statement.

Border security has been a key issue for the current Trump administration, with multiple federal agencies working on immigration enforcement, including the State Department, Department of Defense, Department of Justice, IRS, and military.

On Jan. 20, President Donald Trump declared an emergency on the southern border. Additionally, he has reinstated his Remain in Mexico policy from his first administration and restarted work on the border wall.

In mid-March, construction of an additional seven miles of southern border wall began in Arizona.

Noem announced the restarting of the unfinished wall in a video statement on social media platform X, saying that the area’s upgrades are going to “continue to make America safe again.”

After President Joe Biden took office in 2021, he halted billions of dollars’ worth of construction on the southern border and tasked Vice President Kamala Harris with approaching the “root causes” of illegal immigration.

Trump issued an executive order on the first day of his new term in office, directing the secretaries of defense and homeland security to take action to “construct temporary and permanent physical barriers to ensure complete operational control of the southern border of the United States.”