Editing Michael Chertoff (section)

====Construction of border fence====
Under Chertoff's leadership, the Department of Homeland Security constructed hundreds of miles of fencing along the border between the United States and Mexico. On April 8, 2008, Chertoff issued waivers allowing the Department of Homeland Security to "bypass environmental reviews to speed construction of fencing along the Mexican border". ''The New York Times'' reported that pursuant to the Secure Fence Act of 2006, "the department was authorized to build up to 700 miles of fencing along the 2,000-mile Southwest border, where most illegal immigrants cross". Congress had granted Chertoff waiver authority in 2005,<ref name="auto">{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-mexico-fence-idUSN2348167320080623|title=Court rejects challenge to Arizona border fence|first=James|last=Vicini|newspaper=Reuters|date=June 23, 2008|via=www.reuters.com}}</ref> but the ''Times'' described his actions as an expansion of his waiver authority.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/02/us/02fence.html|title=Government Issues Waiver for Fencing Along Border|work=The New York Times|last=Archibold|first=Randal|date=April 2, 2008|access-date=December 7, 2020}}</ref> According to ''Times'' columnist [[Adam Liptak]], Chertoff's action excluded the Department of Homeland Security from having to follow laws "protecting the environment, [[endangered species]], [[migratory bird]]s, the [[bald eagle]], antiquities, farms, deserts, forests, [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] graves and religious freedom."<ref name="liptack">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/08/us/08bar.html |title=Power to Build Border Fence Is Above U.S. Law|last=Liptak|first=Adam|date=April 8, 2008|work=The New York Times|access-date=October 15, 2008}}</ref> In an editorial, the ''Times'' criticized Chertoff for his use of waiver authority, stating: "To the long list of things the Bush administration is willing to trash in its rush to appease immigration hard-liners, you can now add dozens of important environmental laws and hundreds of thousands of acres of fragile habitat on the southern border."<ref name="op-ed">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/03/opinion/03thu3.html|title=Michael Chertoff's Insult |last=Editorial|date=April 3, 2008|work=The New York Times|access-date=October 15, 2008}}</ref>

A report issued by the [[Congressional Research Service]], the non-partisan research division of the [[Library of Congress]], said that the unchecked delegation of powers to Chertoff was unprecedented:

<blockquote>After a review of federal law, primarily through electronic database searches and consultations with various CRS experts, we were unable to locate a waiver provision identical to that of §102 of H.R. 418—i.e., a provision that contains 'notwithstanding' language, provides a secretary of an executive agency the authority to waive all laws such secretary determines necessary, and directs the secretary to waive such laws.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/national/20080408_CRS_report.pdf |title=Plaintiffs' Exhibit 2 | work=[[The New York Times]] | access-date=May 12, 2010}}</ref></blockquote>

On June 23, 2008, the [[Supreme Court of the United States]] declined to hear a constitutional challenge to the 2005 law that gave Chertoff waiver authority.<ref name="auto"/>