EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem put words into action when she visited the Southern border on Tuesday. She grabbed a long-handled paintbrush and proceeded to paint a new stretch of 30-foot-tall steel bollards border wall black.
“When something is painted black it gets hotter,” she said. “We want to encourage individuals to not come into our country illegally; come in the right way and have an opportunity to become U.S. citizens.”
Noem supervised the construction of several miles of new border wall in an area traditionally used by Mexican smugglers who cut holes in the current mesh fence to send individuals from all over the Hemisphere into the New Mexico desert. Hundreds of migrants have perished in that desert or fallen from the fence or in the mountains in the past three years.
Prior to the border wall tour, Noem visited flood-ravaged Ruidoso, New Mexico, and toured the town with local officials.
In Santa Teresa, Noem and Border Patrol Chief Michael Banks repeatedly thanked President Trump for making good on campaign promises of closing the U.S. border to illegal immigration.
“President Trump has done exactly that. Now we have to most secure border we have had in the history of this nation,” Noem said. “New wall is being built, the structure and more added to it (including) cameras and sensors. It will be efficient with resources as well as the individuals out there to make sure America is safe.”
In the El Paso Sector that includes all of New Mexico, migrant apprehensions are down to 41 per day, compared to a high of 2,300 in a 24-hour period at the height of a surge in 2023.
Noem emphasized how painting the wall black will make the metal hotter. She mentioned that at least three times.
“When you touch something that is hot, it is very difficult to climb,” she said, adding that Trump “wants to make it as difficult as possible for people who are trying to break our laws.”
Fernando Garcia, executive director of Border Network for Human Rights, said the comments reflect an indolence toward individuals who are fleeing desperate situations in their countries and approaching the U.S. looking for an opportunity to work and provide for their families.
“This shows the extent of the dehumanization of migrants, not just in terms of policy but among those that direct that policy,” Garcia said. “They aren’t worried about the well-being or the life of people. Everyone crossing the border has rights, has dignity. Those expressions hurt and dismiss the humanity of people.”
Garcia and other immigrant advocates also have decried the construction of massive new detention centers in Florida and in Fort Bliss, Texas.
On Tuesday, Noem acknowledged the need for those facilities but said the end game is to remove unauthorized immigrants.
“We will make sure people go through due process and are removed. My goal is not to build hundres of thousands of (detention) beds. My goal is to remove people here illegally,” Noem said.
She added 1.6 million undocumented migrants have self-deported since Donald Trump took office on Jan. 20.
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