The Biden administration will abandon 26 federal laws that would allow the construction of several miles of new border wall in South Texas, prompting former President Donald Trump to claim his signed policy was correct all along.
The Department of Homeland Security has reported the announcement Wednesday on the U.S. Federal Register, allowing construction in Starr County, Texas, part of a busy Border Patrol sector with “high levels of illegal entry.”
“There is currently an acute and immediate need to construct physical barriers and roadways near the United States border to prevent illegal entry into the United States in the project areas,” DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in the statement .
The decision contrasts with President Joe Biden’s previous stance against border barriers, including a proclamation on the first day of his term that said: “Building a massive wall that spans the entire southern border is not a serious policy solution.”
Trump, whose Republican administration has created about 450 miles of border barriers, responded to the announcement by saying this Fox News digital that the Biden administration should “go back to Trump’s policies.”
DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas waived 26 federal laws to allow construction of several miles of border wall in South Texas
A U.S. Border Patrol agent monitors as immigrants enter the United States after crossing the Rio Grande from Mexico in Eagle Pass, Texas, on September 30, 2023. The officer had cut rolls of barbed wire to allow them to pass through for processing
“Biden sees that our country is being invaded,” Trump told the newspaper in an interview. “What is he going to do with the 15 million people from prisons, mental institutions, insane asylums and terrorists who have already entered our country?”
A Trump campaign spokesperson said the DHS decision shows that “President Trump is always right.”
According to government data, approximately 245,000 illegal entries were recorded in the Rio Grande Valley Sector, which includes Starr County, during the 2023 fiscal year through early August.
DHS will waive statutes, including the Clean Air Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Endangered Species Act, to make way for construction, using money from a congressional appropriation to build border walls in 2019.
The waivers prevent time-consuming reviews and lawsuits challenging violations of environmental laws.
The hilly ranchlands of Starr County, located between Zapata and McAllen, Texas, are home to approximately 65,000 residents over a sparsely populated area of approximately 450 square miles that are part of the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge.
While no maps were provided in the announcement, an earlier map shared while gathering public comments shows that the piecemeal construction will add an additional 20 miles to the existing border barrier system in the area.
Starr County Judge Eloy Vera said the tour will begin south of the Falcon Dam and pass through Salineño, Texas.
‘The other concern we have is that the area is highly erosive. There are a lot of arroyos,” said Eloy Vera, the county judge, pointing out the creeks that ran through the ranchland and flowed into the river.
The concern is shared with environmentalists who say structures will run through public lands, habitats of endangered plants and species such as the Ocelot, a spotted wild cat.
“A plan to build a wall through it will destroy an impenetrable barrier right through the heart of that habitat. It will stop the migration of wild animals. It will destroy a huge amount of protected nature reserve. And it is a horrific step backwards for the borderlands,” Laiken Jordahl, southwest conservation advocate for the Center for Biological Diversity, said Wednesday afternoon.
Asylum seekers cross the Rio Grande from Mexico into the United States on September 30, 2023 in Eagle Pass, Texas
During the Trump administration, approximately 450 miles (720 kilometers) of barriers were built along the southwest border between 2017 and January 2021.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott renewed those efforts after the Biden administration halted them early in his presidency.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection had no immediate comment.
The announcement sparked a political debate within the Democratic administration, which has faced an increase in the number of migrants entering through the southern border in recent months, including thousands who entered the U.S. through Eagle Pass in late September.
“A border wall is a 14th century solution to a 21st century problem. It will not strengthen border security in Starr County,” U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar said in a statement. “I continue to oppose the wasteful spending of taxpayer dollars on an ineffective border wall.”
Political supporters of the border wall said the waivers should be used as a springboard for a change in policy.
“After years of denying that a border wall and other physical barriers are effective, DHS’s announcement marks a major change in the administration’s thinking: a secure wall is an effective tool for maintaining control of our borders,” she said. Dan Stein, president of the Federation. for U.S. immigration reform, a statement said.
“Having made this concession, the government should immediately begin building a wall across the border to prevent illegal traffic from simply moving to other parts of the border.”