More federal land near the U.S.-Mexico border in
New Mexico's Hidalgo County is being transferred to the U.S. Army to
support border wall construction. On Tuesday,
the federal Bureau of Land Management announced a total of 65.75 acres
of public land in Arizona and New Mexico had been committed by U.S.
Interior Secretary David Bernhardt for utility infrastructure and roads
for border security. In February 2019, President Donald Trump declared a national emergency at the border in
order to redirect billions of dollars toward construction of steel
bollard fencing, after Congress appropriated $1.375 billion for the
project rather than the $5.7 billion the president had requested. Subsequently, the U.S. Department of Defense diverted $3.6 billion from previously approved construction projects, including $187.5 million in upgrades for New Mexico military installations White Sands Missile Range, Holloman Air Force Base, Kirtland Air Force Base and Cannon Air Force Base. Instead, the funds have been committed to funding 11 border barrier projects. Last fall, Bernhardt transferred 560 acres to the
Army, including more than 43 acres in Hidalgo County where vehicle
barriers on the border were slated to be replaced with steel bollard
fencing or "pedestrian barrier." In a July 15 public land order, Bernhardt committed an additional 12.74 acres of land in Hidalgo County to install power and utility infrastructure and build a road network accessing the construction...MORE
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