Overview of the Trump Administration's April, 2019 waivers of law in Arizona and New Mexico.
Date: April 24, 2019
DHS Secretary: Kevin McAleenan (Acting)
Areas Impacted:
FR Doc. 2019-08290 corresponds to the “El Paso 1” project, 46 miles of new bollard wall near Columbus, New Mexico – 27 laws waived. The contract for these new border wall projects appears to have been awarded to SLSCO Construction of Texas on or before April 10, 2019, before the public comment deadline of May 8, 2019. The contract amount is $789 million for 46 new miles of 30-foot border walls, an average cost to the U.S. taxpayer of $17.15 million per mile.
FR Doc. 2019-08291: Corresponds to “Yuma County Infrastructure Projects," 6.5 miles of new (5 miles in NW Yuma) and replacement (1.5 miles on Barry M. Goldwater Range) bollard wall in two sections near Yuma, AZ – 32 laws waived, exact same laws as “Yuma Primary Fence Replacement” below. Note that this includes portions of both the "Yuma 1" and "Yuma 2" projects outlined in the leaked document from DHS regarding Defense funds used for Trump walls. Contracts for both the "Yuma 1" and "Yuma 2" projects appear to have been awarded to Barnard Construction of Montana on or before April 10, 2019, before the public comment deadline of May 8, 2019. The contract amount is $187 million for 11 new and replacement miles of 18 to 30-foot border walls, an average cost to the U.S. taxpayer of $17 million per mile.
FR Doc. 2019-08289: Corresponds to “Yuma Primary Fence Replacement” project, 27.5 miles of replacement wall in 2 sections near Yuma, AZ (note: may have overlaps with “Yuma 1” and “Yuma 2” projects) – 32 laws waived, exact same laws as “Yuma County Infrastructure Projects” above.
Refer to Professor Ken Madsen’s waiver comparison chart for info on the additional 11 waivers issued since 2005 by the George W. Bush and Trump Administrations. The link also includes many maps of border infrastructure and areas where laws have been waived, posted here:
http://u.osu.edu/madsen.34/maps/
For additional information on the Real ID waivers and the harm they inflict on border communities and the environment, see:
https://www.sierraclub.org/borderlands/real-id-waiver-authority-compromises-our-borderlands