“Paint it black.” It’s a move that would make the Rolling Stones proud.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem unveiled the latest technique to keep border jumpers from climbing into the country. All it takes is a paint roller, a can of black paint, and a bit of old-fashioned elbow grease.
Noem personally showed off the latest measure to help keep southern border crossings at their lowest levels in decades.
Standing near the wall in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, Noem said the decision came directly from President Trump.
“Now, if you look at the structure that’s behind me, it’s tall, which makes it very, very difficult to climb, almost impossible. It also goes deep into the ground, which would make it very difficult, if not impossible, to dig under,” she said at a press conference.
“And today, we are also going to be painting it black. 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.”
Noem explained that the paint serves two purposes: protecting the steel structure from rust and turning the desert sun into a natural deterrent for anyone who might try to scale it.
The idea is not new. During Trump’s first term, sections of the wall in Calexico, California, were painted black before the practice was abandoned in order to speed up construction. Now, with crossings at historic lows, the administration is returning to the original prototype design — this time with far more resources.
Trump’s latest funding bill allocates $46.5 billion to finish the wall and upgrade it with surveillance technology. That includes cameras, sensors, and five new high-tech towers in the Del Rio Sector designed to help Border Patrol agents track “gotaways,” according to NewsNation.
Border Patrol agents in the El Paso sector say the difference on the ground is already dramatic. Interim Chief Patrol Agent Walter Slosar said his team is now apprehending an average of 41 people per day — a staggering drop from the 2,300 daily apprehensions recorded at the peak of the crisis in 2023. The majority of those arrested are single adults from Mexico, Guatemala, and Ecuador.
Noem touted the numbers as proof the strategy is working. “The United States now has the most secure border that we’ve ever had in the history of this nation,” she said, pointing to official reports showing zero illegal border crossings for May, June, and July.
Trump himself took a victory lap on Truth Social, congratulating Texas for producing “the LOWEST RECORDED NUMBERS IN UNITED STATES HISTORY” in July.
Republicans in border states are praising the move. “The wall is needed to help secure the border,” said Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas), noting that the combination of physical barriers and advanced technology is giving agents a much-needed edge in fighting smuggling and trafficking.
Predictably, Democrats are crying foul over the new paint scheme, casting it as cruel and unnecessary. But supporters of the plan argue it’s a far better alternative to the harsher deterrents used in other countries. As one administration official put it, if the choice is between steel painted black or lining the wall with razor wire, the paint is the humane option.
On social media, reactions have been overwhelmingly positive. Most comments hailed the plan as a clever, common-sense measure that costs little compared to the potential security benefits. Some even applauded Trump for insisting on the detail years ago, long before the idea resurfaced.