To expedite the construction of barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border, an extensive array of laws has been waived. This authority is codified in 8 U.S. Code §1103 notes, Sec. 102(c) - Improvement of Barriers at Border. In 1996 the Endangered Species Act of 1973 and the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 were waived directly by Congress and in 2005 Congress delegated authority to the Secretary of Homeland Security to waive any law necessary with the REAL ID Act. Covering environmental protections, historic preservation, procurement procedures, religious freedoms, and more, waiver determinations facilitate the extensive and more rapid construction of border barriers. This dataset documents the history of this aspect of U.S. law as debated, as legislated, as proclaimed, and as litigated. 

This dataset is designed to accompany the following academic paper: Madsen, Kenneth D. 2022. Institutionalising the Exception: Homeland Security Section 102(c) Waivers and the Construction of Border Barriers. Geopolitics. https://doi.org/10.1080/14650045.2022.2126766

Most documents in this dataset are from the U.S. government or other publicly available websites and are collected here to support the accompanying academic paper and be centrally available for future reference and research. Other files reflect the author's work to list, categorize, describe, and otherwise make sense of these collected documents. Many files are annotated and have relevant sections highlighted.

This dataset is organized into four sections, indicated by the file name prefix. File names starting with a "1" concern legislation in the U.S. Congress relating to Sec. 102(c) waiver authority. File names starting with a "2" include government documents cited in the accompanying academic paper. File names starting with a "3" document waiver determinations based on Sec. 102(c) authority. File names starting with a "4" summarize court opinions related to Sec. 102(c) waiver authority. All documents included are compatible with the CC0 waiver. Most are in .pdf format with relevant information annotated. In preparing these documents, every effort has been made to prepare them for long-term archival storage. As per recommended best practices, most files have been saved in .pdf/A format (with the "A" referring to standards for long-term (or archival) preservation). Three files are also included in Microsoft Excel format for added usability. For additional details and a full listing of contents, see file "0_dataset_CONTENTS.pdf."