DHS ISSUES SECTION 102 WAIVER TO SPEED TEXAS BORDER WALL; 100 MILES UNDERWAY, $46.5B FUELS BUILD-OUT

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem signed a Section 102 waiver to expedite about five miles of new 30-foot border wall in Starr and Hidalgo Counties within CBP’s Rio Grande Valley Sector. It’s the seventh such waiver, part of roughly 100 miles in planning or construction and backed by new appropriations in H.R. 1. The waiver bypasses environmental reviews under NEPA to fast-track barriers, patrol roads, and integrated surveillance technology.