Biden To Build More US Border Wall Using Trump-era Funds

By Reuters

US President Joe Biden's administration said on Thursday it will add sections to a border wall to stave off record migrant crossings from Mexico, carrying forward a signature policy of former President Donald Trump.

Trump is the frontrunner for the Republican Party nomination to challenge Biden, a Democrat, in the 2024 presidential race. Trump made building border barriers a central tenet of his first campaign for president with the rally chant, "Build That Wall."

One of Biden's first actions after taking office in January 2021 was to issue a proclamation pledging that "no more American taxpayer dollars be diverted to construct a border wall" as well as a review of all resources that had already been committed.

The administration said Thursday's action did not deviate from Biden's proclamation because money that was allocated during Trump's term in 2019 had to be spent now.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement that there was "no new Administration policy with respect to border walls. From day one, this Administration has made clear that a border wall is not the answer."

Mayorkas said the construction project was appropriated during the prior administration and the law requires the government to use the funds, with an announcement made earlier in the year. "We have repeatedly asked Congress to rescind this money but it has not done so and we are compelled to follow the law," he said.

Trump, however, was quick to claim victory and demand an apology.

"As I have stated often, over thousands of years, there are only two things that have consistently worked, wheels, and walls!" Trump wrote on social media. "Will Joe Biden apologize to me and America for taking so long to get moving..."

Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador called the move "a step backwards."