Folks stroll between razor wire and a string of buoys positioned on the water alongside the Rio Grande border with Mexico in Eagle Cross, Texas, on July 16, 2023. Suzanne Cordeiro/AFP/Getty Photographs
Homeland Safety Secretary Kristi Noem has waived federal environmental legal guidelines to fast-track development of 17 miles of waterborne obstacles within the Rio Grande in South Texas, citing the necessity to deal with safety gaps which have enabled numerous kinds of criminal activity.
The Division of Homeland Safety (DHS) stated in a July 3 press launch that waterways alongside the Southwest border have been recognized as a big “functionality hole” in border enforcement efforts—a key Trump administration precedence.