Rumors that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security allegedly illegally used water from New Mexico in order to aid in construction of its border wall circulated in October. Specifically, people claimed that DHS had issued a waiver to remove the state’s protections and ownership of the water wells despite ongoing disputes with land owners and lawsuits against the federal government’s actions regarding its construction plans. The claim was true. On Oct. 2, the Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin issued a directive — available to read on the Federal Register — that it was “necessary to waive certain laws, regulations, and other legal requirements in order to ensure the expeditious construction of barriers and roads in the vicinity of the international land border in the state of New Mexico.” Included in the waiver was the entirety of the New Mexico Water Code.