Did DHS waive New Mexico water laws to access wells for border wall construction?

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<p dir="ltr"><span>Questions arose in October regarding allegations that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was unlawfully utilizing water resources in New Mexico to advance border wall construction. </span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>Reports and public claims indicated that DHS had bypassed state water protections and ownership rights by issuing a waiver for local water wells, even as property owners raised objections and the state initiated legal battles against federal construction activities. </span></p>

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<p dir="ltr"><span>This claim is accurate. </span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>On October 2, then-Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin signed a directive published in the Federal Register. The document asserted that it was necessary to suspend specific laws, regulations, and legal requirements to accelerate the building of barriers and access roads along the international land border within New Mexico.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>The sweeping waiver included a complete exemption from the New Mexico Water Code. </span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>To support the decision, the directive pointed to the El Paso Sector—a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) jurisdiction encompassing all of New Mexico—describing it as a high-traffic zone for unauthorized entries.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>A CBP spokesperson explained via email that the agency is actively collaborating with the State of New Mexico and the U.S. Department of Agriculture on a comprehensive groundwater management strategy. The spokesperson emphasized that water remains essential for road building, concrete mixing, and dust control associated with the barrier project.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>Additionally, CBP directed its contractors to temporarily halt the drilling of any new groundwater wells as a preliminary measure to mitigate environmental effects, while expressing a desire to cooperate with local property owners. </span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>Conversely, a representative for the New Mexico Office of the State Engineer expressed dissatisfaction, stating:</span></p>

<blockquote><p dir="ltr"><span>We have informed the CBP that all water used for the project must come from permitted sources, and we have instructed them in how to do that. To date, they have been unwilling to do so, and they continue pumping water from illegal wells. Therefore, while a pause in drilling new wells is a good first step, more must be done to ensure that New Mexicans' water supply is not threatened by this project.</span></p></blockquote>

<p dir="ltr"><span>During an October 6 hearing of the New Mexico Courts, Corrections and Justice Committee, Nathaniel Chakeres, general counsel for the Office of the State Engineer, delivered a presentation condemning the unauthorized drilling and the subsequent federal waiver, labeling the federal government's actions unconstitutional.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>According to investigative reporting by Searchlight New Mexico, Chakeres told lawmakers that public ownership of state water for private appropriation is enshrined in the New Mexico constitution—a framework formally accepted by the federal government upon statehood. </span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>During his presentation, Chakeres also highlighted environmental vulnerabilities by sharing photographs of an improperly secured well casing sitting just inches above pooled surface water, warning that heavy rainfall could wash contaminants like oil, gas, or construction chemicals directly into the local aquifer. Source New Mexico quoted him describing the situation as alarming and noting that local drillers adhere to much stricter safety standards.</span></p>

<h2><span>New Mexico's battle for water at the border</span></h2>
<p dir="ltr"><span>Friction between New Mexico and federal authorities over border infrastructure began making headlines in June, when the government attempted to acquire land from a Roman Catholic diocese through eminent domain after church officials rejected a buyout offer, resulting in a lawsuit. </span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>By July, regional agricultural workers organized meetings to voice mounting anxieties over diminishing local water reserves and the unmonitored extraction from border aquifers. </span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>In August, the Office of the State Engineer warned that it was prepared to strip operating licenses from contractors hired by the administration to build the border wall. State inspectors reported discovering multiple unapproved wells inside protected basins alongside serious safety violations that posed a severe threat of groundwater contamination.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>Although CBP initially agreed to suspend drilling operations following these grievances, the state ultimately filed a lawsuit against federal agencies and contractors at the end of August, arguing that no genuine steps had been taken to halt the unauthorized water extraction. These escalating legal disputes directly preceded the issuance of the October waiver. </span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>DHS also provided an older statement from CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott, originally issued in August regarding an unrelated border security initiative cutting through tribal land in southern Arizona. The department did not clarify how that statement pertained to the ongoing water disputes in New Mexico.</span></p>