DHS waives environmental laws to start Arizona border wall construction

Environmental laws waived for border wall project

DHS has waived environmental laws to expedite filling border wall gaps in Arizona and New Mexico, a move the Center for Biological Diversity calls a "disastrous project."

PHOENIX - The U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security (DHS) is issuing three new waivers to expedite 36 miles of new border wall construction in Arizona and New Mexico.

What we know:

This waives environmental laws, including the National Environmental Policy Act, so construction can move forward faster.

The Arizona projects include closing seven gaps between 40 and 240 feet in Yuma, and about 27 miles in the Tucson sector.

DHS says closing these gaps will enhance border security operations.

SASABE, ARIZONA - JANUARY 20: The U.S.-Mexico border fence ends with a gap on January 20, 2025 east of Sasabe, Arizona. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

The other side:

The Center for Biological Diversity is responding to the decision.

"Trump is recklessly casting aside the foundational laws that protect endangered species and clean air and water to build a wildlife-killing wall through pristine wilderness," said Laiken Jordahl, Southwest conservation advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity. "Throwing taxpayer money away to wall off the Santa Cruz River and San Rafael Valley would be a death sentence for jaguars, ocelots and other wildlife in the Arizona-Sonora borderlands. This is happening while border crossings are at the lowest level in decades. We’ll fight this disastrous project with everything we’ve got."