The waiver, which automatically took effect on June 9, covers a 90-mile stretch of the Big Bend Sector in Texas.
The waiver was issued under Section 102(c) of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, as amended. The determination took effect on June 9, the date of the corrected notice.
The original notice was published on May 15, 2026, but DHS said the project area description in that document was incorrect. The republication supplies the correct geographic coordinates: the project area begins at approximately GPS point 29.325866, -104.046466 and extends east to approximately GPS point 29.728522, -102.683945 — a corridor within the Big Bend Sector of the U.S. Border Patrol.
In the determination, the Secretary of Homeland Security cited the mandate in the Secure Fence Act of 2006 to achieve and maintain "operational control" of the border, defined as "the prevention of all unlawful entries into the United States, including entries by terrorists, other unlawful aliens, instruments of terrorism, narcotics, and other contraband." The secretary also invoked President Donald Trump's Executive Order 14165, issued January 20, 2025, which directs the secretary to "take all appropriate action to deploy and construct physical barriers to ensure complete operational control of the southern border."
According to the notice, the Big Bend Sector is "an area of high illegal entry." DHS reported that between fiscal year 2021 and fiscal year 2025, Border Patrol agents apprehended more than 89,000 individuals attempting to enter the United States between ports of entry in the sector. During the same period, agents seized over 87,574 pounds of marijuana, over 867 pounds of cocaine, over 1,156 pounds of methamphetamine, over 12 pounds of heroin, and over 94 pounds of fentanyl.
"Since the President took office, DHS has delivered the most secure border in history,