US government waives reviews for border wall in California

Homeland Security Acting Secretary Elains Duke (R) speaks alongside Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Brock Long speaks during a press conference on federal response to Hurricane Irma at FEMA headquarters in Washington, DC, on September 12, 2017. / AFP / MANDEL NGAN

SAN DIEGO: Critics say the Trump administration’s waiving of environmental laws to replace a stretch of wall along the US-Mexico border is overreach and a threat to ecology.
The administration on Tuesday waived the laws and other reviews on Tuesday to replace the stretch of border wall in Calexico, California.
It’s the second time officials have exercised the authority in less than two months.
According to a notice in the Federal Register, the waiver extends 3 miles west from the downtown border crossing in Calexico.
The US Department of Homeland Security will replace an airstrip landing-mat-style fence about 14 feet high with another that’s up to 25 feet high.
Acting Homeland Security Secretary Elaine Duke says replacing the fence in the area was one of the highest priorities for border security.