The quiet change comes as DHS head steps down
On Thursday, as Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was stepping down from her position, the lines on a proposed border wall map mysteriously changed to remove Big Bend National Park from a designation that would make steel walls more likely.
The Customs and Border Protection (CBP) “smart wall” map shows existing and proposed walls color coded for their status and whether they would be a “primary system” (green)—which could include steel, 30-foot walls, along with sensors, lights, roads and cameras—or “detection technology” only (orange), meaning no physical wall. The Big Bend section of the map went from green to orange. However, a large swath of Big Bend Ranch State Park remains green for possible steel walls, as does the stretch west through Presidio and on to Fort Quittman south of Sierra Blanca.
CBP made no statement on the change and could not be immediately reached for comment. It’s unclear if Noem’s departure had anything to do with the switch. She had been heavily criticized for a $233 million advertising contract, which featured her in videos talking tough on border security, to political allies, and President Trump was reportedly unhappy about the deal, as were U.S. senators who grilled her in a congressional hearing on the matter.
Opponents of the border wall celebrated the map change as at least an optimistic point in their battle against the wall. Although many questioned whether the map could change back to include the park again (the map has changed several times).
“While this shift from potential ‘“physical wall’” to ‘“detection technology’” is a signal that the public pressure is working, lack of transparency means we don’t know if this is a real policy shift or a tactical one designed to lower our guard,” No Big Bend Border Wall, the opposition group, posted in a statement. “Map colors can easily change. ‘“Detection technology’” may still significantly impact the environment, limit access to public land and compromise private property rights via installation and maintenance. We just don’t know yet.”
The $46.5 billion DHS border project budget, including some $4 billion-plus for the Big Bend Sector, is still in place.
For more stories, see bigbendsentinel.com/borderwall.
