Trump Orders for Whole Mexico Border Wall to Be Painted Black so It Gets Hot

President Donald Trump has a new plan to bolster the southern border wall.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem traveled to a section of the wall in New Mexico on Tuesday, Aug. 19, to announce an aesthetic update that the Trump administration believes will help curb illegal immigration.

Noem boasted that the current border wall is “difficult to climb, almost impossible,” and “very difficult, if not impossible, to dig under.” But, she said, Trump had an idea to make it even more secure.

“We are also going to be painting it black,” Noem explained. “That is specifically at the request of the president, who understands that in the hot temperatures down here, when something is painted black, it gets even warmer, and it will make it even harder for people to climb.”

“So, we are going to be painting the entire southern border wall black to make sure that we encourage individuals to not come into our country illegally, to not break our federal laws,” she continued, “but [to] abide and come to our country the right way so that they can stay and have the opportunity to become United States citizens and pursue the American dream.”

U.S. Border Patrol Chief Mike Banks, who also attended the event, said the paint would also help deter rust.

This isn’t the first time Trump has used this exact strategy. In 2019, he ordered that segments of the wall be painted black to make them hotter. However, when The Washington Post visited a section of the wall near Sasabe, Ariz., in March 2022 — less than 18 months after it was applied — the paint was already peeling off.

However, Noem was adamant that the new black paint update is the deterrent the U.S. needs to secure the Mexican border.

“Remember that a nation without borders is no nation at all,” she said, before picking up a paint roller while cameras rolled and helping to paint a section of the wall.

“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.”

The Mexican border wall was a major focus of Trump’s first administration. When he left office in 2021, he abandoned millions of dollars in contracts, as well as materials, including free-standing sections of wall that could be easily walked around.

In his second term, ICE raids and mass deportation have been the focus of Trump’s anti-immigration policies. However, the “Big, Beautiful Bill” that Congress passed in July provided $46 billion for Customs and Border Protection to continue construction on the border wall and other barriers, according to CBS News.

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Other border enforcement efforts by the second Trump administration include the creation of two National Defense Areas that stretch around 230 miles along the border in New Mexico and Texas.

These areas were created by the U.S. military and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced in April that “any illegal attempting to enter this zone is entering a military base, a federally protected area,” and can be detained by both CBP and the DOD.