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Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced on Tuesday that the entire southern border wall will be painted black as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to increase the effectiveness of the wall as a deterrent.
Speaking in front of a portion of the southern border wall in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, Noem explained that the wall would be painted entirely black for the dual purposes of making it heat up more and thus harder to climb, as well as increasing the lifespan of the metal.
Noem said the new paintwork comes at the request of President Donald Trump.
“If you look at the structure that’s behind me, 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,” said Noem.
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“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 added.
“So, we are going to be painting the entire southern border wall black to make sure that we encourage individuals to not come into our country illegally, to not break our federal laws, but that they will abide and come to our country the right way so that they can stay and have the opportunity to become United States citizens and pursue the American dream.”
Noem credited the ‘one big, beautiful bill’ that was passed by Congress in July for allocating “an incredible amount of resources” that she said is “going to allow us to continue construction” of the wall.
The secretary said that construction on the wall is advancing at a pace of close to half a mile per day. Besides additional wall and the new paint job, Noem said the administration is also investing in technology, cameras, sensors and waterborne infrastructure that she said will ensure the border “will be secure far into the future and that will be efficient as well.”
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She also mentioned that the administration is not just focused on the southern border but also the northern as well, saying, “We’re doing due diligence in securing every single inch of our border.”
“Remember that a nation without borders is no nation at all,” she said. “We’re so thankful that we have a president that understands that and understands that a secure border is important to our country’s future.”
Noem was joined by several Border Patrol agents and officials, including Interim Chief Patrol Agent for the El Paso Sector Walter Slosar. He shared that agents in the sector are now apprehending an average of 41 people per day, compared to 2,300 a day under the Biden administration in 2023.
Slosar said the seven-day average for gotaways in the sector is currently nine. He said the majority of those apprehended are single adults from Mexico, Guatemala and Ecuador.
While agents were left simply “observing” migrants passing through under Biden, Slosar said illegals are now “running from us.”
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“We’re apprehending those individuals. Our gotaways are the lowest they’ve ever been. And we’re putting we’re working with the Department of Justice … we’re putting criminal charges on those individuals applying consequences and our partners in ICE ERO [Enforcement and Removal Operations] are removing those individuals from the United States.”
Slosar said that the morale among Border Patrol agents in the El Paso sector “is better than it’s ever been because we are doing our national security job, and we are keeping this area safe.”
“Words and messages matter. It is not okay to enter the country illegally, and somebody is finally saying that, that’s our leadership here in the U.S government,” he said.
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