Southern border wall to be painted black, Noem says during New Mexico visit

SANTA TERESA — At the personal direction of President Donald Trump, the entire southern border wall will be painted black, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced Tuesday.

Noem made the announcement in front of a section of the steel bollard structure close to the Santa Teresa Port of Entry, flanked by Border Patrol officers wearing construction hats and fluorescent green vests.

Noem said the black paint would help seal the steel structure against rust, but the main goal was deterring immigrants from scaling the wall, as the black paint would increase the surface temperature of the metal under the scorching desert sun.

“A nation without borders is no nation at all,” Noem told reporters, “and we’re so thankful that we have a president who understands that and understands that a secure border is important to our country’s future.”

Black paint and brand-new paint rollers with long handles were arranged and ready for Noem to join agents in painting the wall in front of cameras.

“This is going to help secure this area for the betterment of the El Paso community, and we’re taking border security seriously,” Walter Slosar, the interim chief patrol agent for the Border Patrol’s El Paso Sector, said during the event.

Noem did not offer details on cost estimates or how long the painting project might take. When asked if exposing immigrants to the risk of burns was not cruel, Noem responded: “Don’t touch it. They have a choice.”

The secretary, whose department includes the Federal Emergency Management Agency and numerous offices or agencies addressing national security, made two stops in New Mexico on Tuesday, first joining Ruidoso officials for a tour of damage from repeated flash flooding this summer.

“It’s nice to have someone from the federal level have such a great grasp on what is going to be needed to start rebuilding,” Ruidoso Mayor Lynn Crawford said in a written statement. “Secretary Noem understands the bureaucratic red tape and what it is going to take to move forward. Secretary Noem recognizes the cascading events that continue to happen and the mitigation efforts that are going to be needed for the Forest Service lands, the Village of Ruidoso, Ruidoso Downs and down into the Hondo Valley.”

Noem then moved on to Santa Teresa, where she praised Trump and celebrated the seven-month mark of his second administration, claiming that 1.6 million immigrants not authorized to be in the U.S. had left the country. The figure is based on a report from the Center for Immigration Statistics, a nonprofit think tank.

Noem also celebrated passage of the “Big Beautiful Act,” the large tax and spending package that provides $165 billion to Homeland Security, including $45.5 billion for border wall construction; $4.1 billion for hiring customs officers and Border Patrol agents; and nearly $6 billion for combined technology and border surveillance.

The visit came as Customs and Border Protection data reports record lows in encounters with immigrants unauthorized to be in the U.S., including a plunge in encounters in the El Paso Sector, which encompasses West Texas and all of New Mexico.

While arrests and detentions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have surged, Border Patrol apprehensions at the U.S.-Mexico boundary reached their lowest point in decades during July, with no parole releases at all from May through June.

“In 2023, we had one day where there were 2,300 people apprehended by the U.S. Border Patrol,” Slosar said, referring to El Paso Sector data. “We are now apprehending, by a seven-day average, about 41 people a day.”

Noem fielded questions about ICE facilities, including the recent opening of an enormous $1.2 billion facility on the grounds of Fort Bliss in El Paso, as well as the military’s expanded role in border enforcement and DHS’ plans for more ICE detention centers, for which the Big Beautiful Bill provides $45 billion over four years.

Noem was also asked about reports by Congress members who have attempted to inspect ICE detention facilities were not allowed to speak to any detainees at the facilities. A group of Democratic lawmakers, including U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar of El Paso, are suing the Trump administration over DHS policies requiring advance notice for visits by members of Congress.

Noem reiterated DHS’ policy requiring a week’s notice before any visit, without addressing permission to interview detainees.

“I believe that they have access and oversight responsibilities that they’re able to conduct as long as they’re giving us the notice, in order to make sure we can do so safely … with an adequate number of security guards present and an adequate number of people to conduct it in an orderly manner,” Noem said.

On July 30, U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez, D-N.M., said he was not permitted to speak to any detainees at the Otero County Processing Center, a privately-managed ICE detention facility in Chaparral, although he had provided the requested seven days’ notice.