Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced that the entire length of the border wall will be painted black as another safeguard preventing people from illegally crossing the southern border, Fox News reported. Noem said this move was ordered "specifically at the request" of President Donald Trump.
Noem made the announcement Tuesday in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, near a portion of the border wall while flanked by other officials and Border Patrol agents. She said the darker color would make the metal heat up, which would deter climbers, while also protecting the material from the elements.
"If you look at the structure that's behind me, 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. "That is specifically at the request of the president," Noem clarified in a video of her remarks shared to X, formerly Twitter, by ABC News on Tuesday.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the entire southern border wall will be painted black, so it will get hot in the sun and "make it even harder for people to climb."
"That is specifically at the request of the president." https://t.co/fDAt90dmk6 pic.twitter.com/rZZZhZ3SVx
— ABC News (@ABC) August 19, 2025
After four years of illegal immigrants flooding through the border under then-President Joe Biden, Trump's policies are once again focused on border security. Noem said that thanks to Trump's "one big, beautiful bill" signed on July 4, "an incredible amount of resources" will go toward stopping illegal immigration, including building additional sections onto the border wall.
Noem said they are constructing those sections at breakneck speed, completing up to a half-mile of border fence per day. The Trump administration is also focused on making the border "secure far into the future" with technology such as sensors, cameras, and other physical barriers in waterways.
"We're doing due diligence in securing every single inch of our border. Remember that a nation without borders is no nation at all," Noem said during the news conference. "We're so thankful that we have a president that understands that and understands that a secure border is important to our country's future," Noem credited Trump.
During the press event with Noem, Interim Chief Patrol Agent for the El Paso Sector Walter Slosar boasted that daily apprehensions have dwindled from about 2,300 per day under Biden in 2021 to around just 41 per day. Slosar noted that Biden hamstrung Border Patrol into "observing" migrant crossings, whereas now illegal immigrants are "running from us."
Even the gotaways are in the single digits under Trump. "We're apprehending those individuals. Our gotaways are the lowest they've ever been. And we're putting we're working with the Department of Justice … we're putting criminal charges on those individuals applying consequences and our partners in ICE ERO [Enforcement and Removal Operations] are removing those individuals from the United States."
Because Trump is focusing on the problem rather than exacerbating it like Biden did, the left is in a tizzy about anything he suggests regarding border security. This new paint job has elicited the usual whiny responses and lamentations, including suddenly worrying about government spending on something they insist won't work.
"The crazy thing is that despite this costing literally billions of dollars; they have the money for it! That’s right, Congress decided to cut funding for benefits for Americans and instead give CBP billions for the border wall, which they’ll now use to paint the thing black," Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, said on X, formerly Twitter.
"Straight out of the Wile E. Coyote playbook," another user posted. User Zack Nelson, who runs the JerryRigEverything YouTube page, similarly mocked Trump's efforts while pretending to care about the cost of a government project in a post to X.
"Do they not sell gloves in Mexico? I could climb that wall with 20 bucks worth of materials from home depot. Such a waste of time and money," Nelson claimed.
This opposition is rich, coming from people who supported Biden's policies that allowed unvetted illegal immigrants to pour into the U.S. for his entire administration while he was wasting taxpayer dollars elsewhere. Trump's plan to paint the wall black is just another layer of protection for the American people, and they can't stand that.
