President Joe Biden essentially argued on Thursday that his hands are tied and he has no control over new construction of border wall.
The Biden administration is planning to construct 10 new sections of border wall along a 50-mile stretch of the southern border in Starr County, Texas. Ultimately, about 20 miles of new barrier will be constructed over a two-year period, according to the Washington Examiner. A notice posted to the Federal Register said the wall is necessary due to “high illegal entry” of migrants.
The news is creating havoc for Biden because it is a complete reversal of his campaign promise not to build “another foot of wall” as president.
Biden was asked about the reversal on Thursday. He told a reporter “nothing” has changed before claiming that he is powerless to stop the construction process.
“The border wall — the money was appropriated for the border wall. I tried to get to them to reappropriate it, to redirect that money. They didn’t. They wouldn’t,” Biden claimed. “And in the meantime, there’s nothing under the law other than they have to use the money for what it was appropriated. I can’t stop that.”
Biden, moreover, said that “no,” he does not believe border walls work.
It’s true that Congress appropriated the funds in 2019 for border wall construction in the Rio Grande Valley. The funds were required to be used by the end of fiscal year 2023, which ended Sept. 30. Previously, Biden called on Congress to rescind the appropriated funds.
Still, his comments put him at odds with Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who says the wall is “necessary,” not because the administrations needs to comply with Congress, but because of the border crisis.
Specifically, Mayorkas revealed that immigration authorities encountered “over 245,000” migrants attempting to enter the U.S. in the Rio Grande Valley — the sector of border where the new wall will be built — in fiscal year 2023.
“There is presently an acute and immediate need to construct physical barriers and roads in the vicinity of the border of the United States in order to prevent unlawful entries into the United States,” Mayorkas explained in the Federal Registry notice.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was pressed about the contradiction at the press briefing on Thursday. She, of course, refused to resolve it.
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