The wall alongside the southern border will be painted black in an effort to make the construction too hot to climb, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem introduced Tuesday, saying the suggestion got here from President Donald Trump.
“It’s tall, which makes it very, very difficult to climb, almost impossible. It also goes deep into the ground, which would make it very difficult, if not impossible, to dig under. And today we are also going to be painting it black,” Noem stated during a information convention Tuesday in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, as she stood earlier than the slatted metal construction.
“That is specifically at the request of the president, who understands that in the hot temperatures down here, when something is painted black, it gets even warmer, and it will make it even harder for people to climb,” she stated.
The black paint will additionally stop rust on the metal, stated US Border Patrol Chief Michael Banks.
The transfer to paint the wall comes because the Trump administration claims there have been simply over 6,000 apprehensions on the southern border in June, 15% decrease than a earlier document in March.
The southern border wall was a centerpiece of Trump’s hardline immigration stance during his first time period. Now in his second time period, Trump’s focus has largely shifted to deportations and heightened enforcement throughout the US.
Noem didn’t say how a lot it would value to paint the wall, however the administration secured about $46.5 billion in funding by the Trump-backed “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” to modernize the border barrier system, together with finishing development on 700 miles of main wall.
The authorities is constructing roughly half a mile of barrier every day, Noem stated Tuesday.
“The border wall will look very different based on the topography and the geography of where it is built,” she defined.
Noem additionally famous the division’s deployment of “water-borne infrastructure” and superior expertise, similar to cameras and sensors.