DHS Issues Waiver to Expedite Border Wall Projects in Yuma & El Paso
Release Date:
April 26, 2019
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued two waivers, which will ensure expeditious construction of new bollard wall within the U.S. Border Patrol’s Yuma and El Paso sectors in Arizona and Texas. The projects covered by the waivers include up to approximately 53 miles of new bollard wall in place of dilapidated and outdated designs, in addition to, road construction and improvement and lighting installation. The waivers were published in the Federal Register on April 24, 2019.
To support DHS’s actions under Section 102 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, as amended (IIRIRA), DHS requested that the Department of Defense (DoD), pursuant to its authority under 10 U.S.C. § 284(b)(7), assist with the construction of fences, roads, and lighting within specified locations of the border in order to block drug-smuggling corridors across the international boundary between the United States and Mexico. The Acting Secretary of Defense determined that the projects covered by these waivers meet the statutory requirements of 10 U.S.C. § 284(b)(7). As such, these projects will be funded by appropriations available to DoD.
https://www.dhs.gov/news/2019/04/26/dhs-issues-waiver-expedite-border-wall-projects-yuma-el-paso
