Kristi Noem says U.S.-Mexico border wall to be painted black as deterrent
The announcement for the project came Tuesday, with Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem saying the idea is the brainchild of U.S. President Donald Trump.
'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,' Noem said during a news conference in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, as she stood in front of the enormous, slatted steel structure.
'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, making it even harder for people to climb,' she continued.
Story continues below advertisement
U.S. Border Patrol Chief Mike Banks, who attended the event with Noem, said the paint would also help deter rust.
Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act — a sprawling collection of tax breaks, spending cuts and other Republican priorities, including new money for national defence and deportations, signed into law earlier this summer — will help the government continue construction on the wall, which began during Trump's first term, Noem said.
Get breaking National news
For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up
By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy
'We had an incredible amount of resources allocated to us in the 'big, beautiful bill,' because that's going to allow us to continue construction.
'Construction right now is at the pace of a little bit less than a half a mile a day. And the border wall will look very different based on the topography and the geography of where it is built,' she said.
Story continues below advertisement
During Trump's first term, building the wall was a central focus of his hardline immigration policy. During his second term, his mass deportation agenda with arrests in the interior of the country has been the main focus, but Homeland Security will be getting about US$46 billion to complete the wall as part of new funding passed by Congress this summer.
Noem said that in addition to barriers like the one she visited on Tuesday, the department is also working on 'water-borne infrastructure.'
Long sections of the roughly 3,220-kilometre border between the U.S. and Mexico sit along the Rio Grande River in Texas.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Global News
24 minutes ago
- Global News
Lake Okanagan Resort residents push for new water treatment plant, following McDougall Fire
Two years after the McDougall Creek wildfire destroyed 90 percent of Lake Okanagan Resort — including its privately owned water system — nearly 200 residents are still waiting for answers. With no clear path forward, frustration is mounting. 'Step up and show some real action toward resolving this so we can start building our building and get people home,' said Lake Okanagan community member Heather Ormiston. Residents can't begin rebuilding until basic services — power, sewer, and water — are restored. In a statement, the BC Utilities Commission said, 'Lake Okanagan Resort is responsible for requesting re-connection to the BC Hydro system to power its own facilities, such as its water treatment plant.' Both the BCUC and Interior Health confirm they have no authority to compel the resort's owners to repair or operate the system. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'Interior Health regulates community water systems under the Drinking Water Protection Act, with responsibility for overseeing water quality, testing, and treatment safety standards,' said Interior Health. Story continues below advertisement 'The Lake Okanagan Resort is a privately owned water system that was significantly damaged during the McDougall Creek fire.' With no clear movement from the resort's owners, residents have taken matters into their own hands — proposing a new water treatment facility that would be built and operated by the Regional District of Central Okanagan (RDCO). Ormiston pointed to a nearby site she says could work. 'We have all this land — this would be a great spot for our new water treatment plant.' However, the district says it does not have the legal authority to create or manage water infrastructure on private property. Despite this, residents remain hopeful. 'We've engaged with professionals,' Ormiston said. 'And we feel that this could be happening by this spring if we get all levels of government to the table.' Now, West Kelowna–Peachland MLA Macklin McCall is calling on the Premier to intervene. In a letter sent to David Eby, the BC Conservative MLA urged ministry-level action, the potential expropriation of the resort's water system, and emergency funding to build a new, reliable water solution for the displaced community. 'This overrules,' McCall said. 'It has the province potentially come in and say, 'Okay, here's the issue, here's what our authorities are — we're going to take possession of it.'' He stressed this should be treated as an emergency, not a political issue. 'I am absolutely on board to sit down with the ministers, with the Premier,' McCall said. 'A fire came through. These people — they need water. These are their homes.'
Global News
an hour ago
- Global News
Ontario college support staff take step toward strike with ‘no board' request
The union that represents thousands of full-time support staff at Ontario's colleges has taken a step toward a possible strike. The Ontario Public Service Employees Union says it has requested a 'no board' report, and once issued by the province's labour ministry it would set a 16-day countdown to a legal strike position. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy The union says there is no strike date at this time, but it would put them in a position to withdraw services for the fall semester. Members voted earlier this month 77.3 per cent in favour of authorizing a strike, if necessary. The College Employer Council, the bargaining agent for the province's publicly funded colleges, has said the union's demands would expose colleges to more than $900 million in additional costs. OPSEU has proposed a moratorium on campus closures and preventing further layoffs, as the sector has seen closures and what the union describes as thousands of job losses due to a funding crisis.
Winnipeg Free Press
an hour ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Defamation case against Fox News highlights role of its hosts in promoting 2020 election falsehoods
NEW YORK (AP) — Court papers in a voting technology company's $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News point to Maria Bartiromo, Lou Dobbs and Jeanine Pirro as leaders in spreading false stories about election fraud in the weeks after Democrat Joe Biden's victory over President Donald Trump in 2020. Arguments for summary judgment by Smartmatic were filed in lightly redacted form this week at the New York Supreme Court. It's like a bad rerun for Fox: Similar revelations about its conduct following the 2020 election came in a lawsuit by another company falsely accused of doctoring votes, Dominion Voting Systems. Fox agreed to pay Dominion $787 million in a 2023 settlement after the judge found it was 'CRYSTAL CLEAR' that none of the claims against the voting system company were true. In short: Fox let Trump aides spread conspiracy theories despite knowing they were false because it was what their viewers wanted to hear. Fox was trying to hold on to viewers who were angry at the network for saying Biden had won the election. Fox said it was covering a newsworthy story. It accuses the London-based company, which had only Los Angeles County as a client for the 2020 election, of exaggerating its claims of damages in the hope of receiving a financial windfall. Pirro now working in the second Trump administration The focus on Pirro is noteworthy because the former Fox personality now serves in Trump's second administration as U.S. attorney in Washington, D.C. Smartmatic, relying on emails and text messages revealed as part of the case, said Pirro was using her position as a Fox host in 2020 to help Trump and persuade him to pardon her ex-husband, Albert Pirro, who was convicted of conspiracy and tax evasion. Trump pardoned him before leaving office in 2021. In a text to then-Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel in September 2020, Pirro said, 'I'm the No. 1 watched show on news cable all weekend. I work so hard for the President and the party,' Smartmatic said in court papers. One of her own producers, Jerry Andrews, called Pirro a 'reckless maniac,' Smartmatic said. He texted after one of her shows in November that it was 'rife (with) conspiracy theories and bs and is yet another example of why this woman should never be on live television.' The court papers said Pirro also suggested 'evidence' of supposed fraud to Trump lawyer Sidney Powell that she could use on a television appearance — material that also was spread by Bartiromo. Bartiromo still works at Fox, and in 2020 had shows on both the news channel and Fox Business Network. The court papers uncovered messages showing her desire to help Trump: 'I am very worried. Please please please overturn this. Bring the evidence, I know you can,' she texted to Powell. Dobbs, whose business show was canceled by Fox in February 2021, texted to Powell four days after the election, saying 'I'm going to do what I can to help stop what is now a coup d'etat in (its) final days — perhaps moments,' a reference to Biden's victory. Dobbs died in 2024. A central figure in Fox's 'pivot' Smartmatic portrayed Pirro as a central figure in Fox's 'pivot' to deemphasize Biden's victory because it angered Trump fans. Instead, the network found that ratings jumped whenever claims of election fraud were discussed, it said. As in the Dominion case, the discovery process helped Smartmatic find messages and statements that seem embarrassing in retrospect. For example, in early December, Fox's Jesse Watters texted colleague Greg Gutfeld that 'Think of how incredible our ratings would be if Fox went ALL in on STOP THE STEAL.' Fox, in a response to the newly-revealed court papers, pointed to an ongoing corruption case involving Smartmatic and its executives, including a claim by federal prosecutors that it used money from the sale of voting machines to set up a 'slush fund' for bribing foreign officials. 'The evidence shows that Smartmatic's business and reputation were badly suffering long before any claims by President Trump's lawyers on Fox News and that Smartmatic grossly inflated its damage claims to generate headlines and chill free speech,' Fox said. 'Now, in the aftermath of Smartmatic's executives getting indicted for bribery charges, we are eager and ready to continue defending our press freedoms.' Smartmatic has already settled similar defamation claims against Newsmax and One America News Network in relation to their post-2020 election coverage. ___ David Bauder writes about the intersection of media and entertainment for the AP. Follow him at and
