The Biden-era immigration policies have been swiftly reversed under President Donald Trump, with one of his signature initiatives — the border wall — once again at the center of the administration’s enforcement strategy. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced this week that the wall along the US-Mexico border will be painted black, a move Trump believes will make it significantly more difficult for migrants to scale.

The $46 million funding bill passed earlier this summer includes allocations not only for wall extensions but also for the black paint project. “The black paint was specifically at the request of the president,” Noem told reporters during a press briefing at a construction site in New Mexico. “[He] 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.”

According to Noem, nearly half a mile of new wall is being constructed each day along the 2,000-mile border. Border Patrol officials said the black paint would also help slow rusting and prolong the wall’s durability, adding another layer of defense to the already controversial structure.

In addition to wall construction, the administration is also expanding what Noem described as “waterborne infrastructure” along the Rio Grande — which comprises more than half of the border. While she declined to provide details, previous measures in Texas have included floating barriers of large orange buoys and fortified riverbank fencing guarded by local police, state troopers, and the Texas National Guard.

The Trump administration has emphasized the impact of these policies by pointing to sharply declining migration numbers. Crossings and detentions have fallen to record lows, with about 6,000 in June and 4,600 in July — a 92% year-over-year drop. During the Biden years, detentions sometimes spiked to more than 6,000 per day.

Noem also said earlier this month that 1.6 million undocumented immigrants have left the US since Trump returned to office, though she did not specify how many were deported versus those who left voluntarily.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt added that since January, 300,000 undocumented immigrants have been detained inside the US. Officials argue that the stepped-up arrests and deportations, especially of individuals with criminal records, have acted as a deterrent.

Still, immigration advocates caution that the sweep has caught up thousands with no criminal charges or only minor infractions. They argue that Trump’s enforcement-first approach risks breaking up families and overburdening immigration courts.

For Trump, however, the wall — now with a coat of black paint — remains a central symbol of his immigration agenda.

Originally reported by Bernd Debusmann Jr in BBC.