By Hanna Park, CNN

(CNN) — The wall along the southern border will be painted black in an effort to make the structure too hot to climb, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced Tuesday, saying the suggestion came from President Donald Trump.

“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. And today we are also going to be painting it black,” Noem said during a news conference Tuesday in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, as she stood before the slatted steel structure.

“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,” she said.

The black paint will also prevent rust on the steel, said US Border Patrol Chief Michael Banks.

The move to paint the wall comes as the Trump administration claims there were just over 6,000 apprehensions at the southern border in June, 15% lower than a previous record in March.

The southern border wall was a centerpiece of Trump’s hardline immigration stance during his first term. Now in his second term, Trump’s focus has largely shifted to deportations and heightened enforcement within the US.

Noem didn’t say how much it would cost to paint the wall, but the administration secured about $46.5 billion in funding through the Trump-backed “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” to modernize the border barrier system, including completing construction on 700 miles of primary wall.

The government is building approximately half a mile of barrier each day, Noem said Tuesday.

“The border wall will look very different based on the topography and the geography of where it is built,” she explained.

Noem also noted the department’s deployment of “water-borne infrastructure” and advanced technology, such as cameras and sensors.

During Trump’s first term, his administration considered painting more than 80 miles of US-Mexico border wall black.

US Customs and Border Protection, which oversees border wall construction, said in 2020 that it was testing the black coating along some sections of the wall. The administration had previously suggested that it would assess the operational benefits of the black paint.

Current and former agency officials also argued in 2020 that the painted finish would have little effectiveness, saying it was largely being done to placate the president.

This story has been updated with additional information.

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