Biden plans to build part of border wall, says he was unable to redirect appropriated funds

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Biden plans to build part of border wall,…

Immigration Law Biden plans to build part of border wall, says he was unable to redirect appropriated funds

By Debra Cassens Weiss

October 5, 2023, 2:59 pm CDT

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A U.S.-Mexico border fence in Texas. President Joe Biden told reporters Thursday that he doesn’t think that a border wall is effective, but he is planning to build one anyway in Starr County, Texas. Image from Shutterstock.

President Joe Biden told reporters Thursday that he doesn’t think that a border wall is effective, but he is planning to build one anyway in Starr County, Texas.

Congress appropriated money for the wall in the Rio Grande Valley in 2019. On Thursday, Biden commented on plans to waive environmental, tribal and other legal protections to build a barrier about 17 miles long.

The New York Times, Bloomberg Law and CNN are among the publications with coverage.

“The money was appropriated for the border wall. I tried to get them to reappropriate, to redirect that money. They didn’t. They wouldn’t,” Biden said, apparently referring to Congress.

A notice published in the Federal Register says the U.S. Border Patrol had encountered more than 245,000 people entering the country illegally between Rio Grande Valley ports of entry in fiscal year 2023.

Jonathan Blazer, director of border strategies at the American Civil Liberties Union, criticized the Biden administration’s decision in an Oct. 5 press release.

“The Biden administration’s decision to rush into border wall construction marks a profound failure,” Blazer said. “On the campaign trail, President Biden put it best when he said that the border wall is not a serious policy solution—and we couldn’t agree more. Instead of upholding this promise, the Biden administration is doubling down on the failed policies of the past that have proven wasteful and ineffective.”

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