The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a waiver this week regarding specific legal requirements and regulations in order to ensure the expedited construction of physical barriers and roads within the vicinity of the U.S. international border near San Diego, California.
According to DHS, the waiver is pursuant to authority granted to the Secretary of Homeland Security by Congress and covers a number of environmental, natural resource, and land management laws. In this instance, the department exercised its waiver authority under Section 102 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996.
Due to the sector’s popularity for illegal entries, DHS said there was an immediate need to improve its current infrastructure and construct additional border barriers and roads. During FY2016 alone, agents apprehended more than 31,000 undocumented immigrants and seized more than 10,000 pounds of illicit narcotics.
The department’s new project will primarily focus on an approximately 15-mile long segment of the border, beginning with the Pacific Ocean and extending eastward to Border Monument 251.
DHS stated it is implementing President Trump’s Executive Order 13767, titled Border Security and Immigration Improvements, and is in the process of planning, designing, and constructing a physical wall along the border while using appropriate materials and technology to effectively achieve operational control of the area.
The department added it has also been coordinating and consulting with other federal and state resource agencies to ensure that impacts to the environment and wildlife are minimized.