Trump Administration Proposes Nearly 10 Miles of New Border Barriers Near San Diego

The Trump administration has announced plans to build nearly 10 miles of new border barriers along the San Diego-Mexico border, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) sources consulted by NBC's San Diego affiliate.

The proposed construction would be located near the Tecate and Otay Mesa ports of entry. The project includes a 30-foot-high steel bollard wall with anti-climb features. The largest section, west of the Tecate Port of Entry, would stretch nearly eight miles, while another section east of Tecate would add just over a mile. A third segment east of Otay Mesa would measure a little more than three miles.

CBP also outlined plans to upgrade 52 miles of existing infrastructure with surveillance cameras, patrol roads, and lighting, NBC San Diego pointed out. Last month, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem issued a waiver of environmental laws to cover the San Diego project, a step that has become common practice for accelerating border construction.

Critics argue the new barriers will endanger migrants and wildlife. "Border walls just simply don't work," said Pedro Rios of the American Friends Service Committee to the news outlet. "They're not a useful way of deterring migration. They just complicate the crossing and add to how people are affected, harmed, and die as a result of border walls. And it's not a solution.

The San Diego proposal comes amid broader efforts by the administration to expand border barriers through the use of environmental waivers. CBP announced in early September that the administration had waived 31 environmental and public health laws to speed construction in Texas' Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge. The Center for Biological Diversity warned that the waivers would allow barriers to cut through endangered species habitat, including land critical to ocelots and migratory birds.

On September 16, the Center for Biological Diversity reported that new wall construction had begun in Arizona's San Rafael Valley, a key corridor for jaguars, ocelots, and other species. The group sued the administration, arguing that the waiver of laws such as the Endangered Species Act was unconstitutional.

CBP said it will conduct biological and cultural surveys in San Diego in consultation with tribes and agencies and invited the public to submit feedback on potential environmental, cultural, and economic impacts by October 23.