Biden administration announces construction to begin on border wall

WASHINGTON (Gray DC) - The Department of Homeland Security said in a memo there is an “immediate need” to construct physical barriers on the U.S. southern border.

President Joe Biden, who vowed construction would end when he took over the White House, claims the move was made out of necessity.

“The border wall money was appropriated for the border wall,” Biden said. “ I tried to reappropriate it, to redirect that money. They didn’t. They wouldn’t. And in the meantime, there’s nothing under the law other than they have to use the money for what it was appropriated.”

Biden contends the wall won’t deter migrants.

But he didn’t stop his own Department of Homeland Security from waiving 26 federal laws to allow for the construction. Illinois Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker recently wrote a letter to Biden saying his state is nearing a breaking point on handling the influx of migrants.

“We wanted to make sure that there was a public statement out there of many of the things that we’ve talked about in the past with the administration, but the things that we need right now,” Priztker said.

Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has been busing migrants to cities like Chicago and New York.

Critics say that is treating people as political pawns, but Sen. John Cornyn, R-TX, said it brings the border issue to more people’s attention.

“This is a disaster any way you look at it, and hopefully with some of these governors in blue states beginning to speak up, we can not just fund the current broken policies, but we can actually change the policies,” Cornyn said.

The Biden administration has repeatedly asked for more money from Congress to address the border. Cornyn said they simply need to follow the law.

“I’m not for spending one penny more to facilitate the current policies of the administration,” Cornyn said. “All they want to do is expedite more people into the interior. All they want to do is expedite more people into the interior of the United States, which makes the human smugglers rich.”

DHS said construction will begin in the Rio Grande Valley, which has seen a high number of crossings.

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