On December 20 the Department of Health Security(DHS) announced that it would expeditiously close border wall gaps and incomplete gates along the Southern border fences erected during the Donald Trump era.
In a statement, the department said it would be “closing small gaps that remain open from prior construction activities” as a safety measure from the illegal immigrants while also taking steps to address flooding and soil erosion.
The Trump Wall
Us Mexico border wall also known as ‘The Trump wall’ started during the tenure of Donald Trump’s presidency. This was his election promise and prestigious project. The project had mixed opinions and was widely discussed all over the world.
According to US customs and border protection in its October status report, the southern border has 669 miles of primary barrier and 65 miles of secondary barrier.
Since Joe Bidens ascended the presidency in January, he ordered an immediate halt on border fence construction and called for scrutiny and review of projects and funds. This resulted in large sections of incomplete walls and construction materials sitting unused along the borders.
Criticism On Biden
Joe Biden took over the chair, promising to find a permanent solution for immigration challenges, which has been a problem for decades. Since he took office, there has been a great influx of migrants and this has become a great cause of concern for Americans.
Economic problems have been creating many turmoils in the Central American continent after the covid pandemic. So it is expected that migration to America will rise again in a couple of months. Thus it is going to be a hard time for Mr. Biden.
Even some Democrats raised concerns over Joe Biden’s administrative policies and cold approach towards migration. Last month the administration had to face lawsuits from environmental groups over damage from the walls they argue needs to be remedied. Many of them raise environmental pollution concerns also.
Other than that, since the construction is halted, a hundred million dollars worth of material – that was paid from the taxpayer’s hard-earned money, is lying on the borders without any use. Most of them are rusted and cannot be used further. The contractual obligations with the construction company are also becoming a burden for the taxpayer.
New Decisions
Based on recent reviews conducted by the Department of Health Security (DHS), the Joe Biden administration has decided to complete some unfinished work.
The suggested activities include installing the drainage system to prevent flooding, disposing of the residual materials that are not required to do the rest of work, and closing “small gaps that remain open from prior construction activities and remediating incomplete gates.”
The work will be done in the US Border Patrol’s San Diego, El Centro, Yuma, Tucson, El Paso, and Del Rio sectors. They are also considering other potential sites. The work the administration will undertake is to ensure a better focus on addressing safety and security concerns. The department stated that work is necessary to address the security of life as well as environmental safety.
The department said it will fix gates and build the dilapidated roads used by border patrol agents. They are also planning to finish construction on patrol and maintenance roads and establish power connections to non-functioning gates. The move is to tighten physical defenses against illegal border crossings from Mexico as the encounters of such incursions from the US-Mexico border are increasing day by day.
The currently devised plan does not include the construction of additional miles of wall, but only focuses on doing maintenance on the existing structure created during the Trump era.
The Department of Home Security stated that the current transfer is a component of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorka’s plan to use border funds wisely and safeguard the border communities from physical dangers that were resulting from the previous government’s approach towards border wall construction.
The Republican Reaction
Republicans who are the great supporters of the border fence applauded the decision and called for more action. Last day the state of Texas had begun construction of its own wall with huge steel bars in its borders with Mexico.
The Republican governor of Texas Greg Abbott said on Saturday that the Biden administration has miserably failed in securing the borders and the construction of the Texas wall, which is the replication of the same border wall of former president Donald Trump is an unprecedented step from the state to safeguard the sovereignty of Texas as well as the US.
The governor who is well known for his white house ambitions denounced the deadly consequences of Biden’s border policies.
Senator Rob Portman, the top Republican on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee said in a statement that he was “pleased to see that they are finally taking some actions to secure our border”. He further pushed for more actions to constrain unlawful migration and drug trafficking that is threatening the stability of the US.
He added that it was the right step in the right direction. He also called on Biden’s administration to install the needed technology that is needed by the patrolling agents to undertake the task of vigilant patrol.
DHS also said a similar statement regarding the same. They called on Congress to cancel the remaining border wall funding and use these funds to provide smart and sophisticated high-end border security measures. They believe these technological advancements will help in ensuring more safety and security in the porous borders that have always been a bone of contention.
