The Mexican president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, described this Thursday Washington’s decision to expand the border wall between both countries as “a step backwards” to try to prevent the illegal entry of migrants into the United States.
“This authorization for the construction of the wall constitutes a step backwards because it does not solve the problem. We must combat the causes” of illegal immigration, declared the president in his usual morning press conference.
The US Government announced that it had suspended 26 federal laws in South Texas to allow the construction of a new section of the border wall with Mexico, an unprecedented decision taken by the current White House administration.
This maneuver had already been used frequently by the previous US administration led by Republican Donald Trump.
The Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, declared that a new section will be built in the Rio Grande Valley, a sector that registers a “large number of illegal entries” on the border between both countries.
“There is currently an urgent and immediate need to construct physical barriers and roads near the border of the United States of America (US) to prevent illegal entries,” Mayorkas stated in an official document.
The information was considered a turning point in the strategy of the administration of Joe Biden (Democrat), and when the current President guaranteed at his inauguration in January 2021 that the construction of a border wall would not be paid for by taxpayers.
At the time, he also stated that a “massive” wall did not constitute “a serious political solution.”
“It is not legally possible to use this money for anything else”
Joe Biden, candidate for presidential re-election, assured today that he “cannot interrupt” the financing secured by his predecessor Donald Trump for the construction of the wall.
“Money was planned for the border wall. I tried to convince [os republicanos no Congresso] to grant the funds for another purpose, redirect them. “They didn’t want to,” he said.
“Therefore, legally it is not possible to use this money for anything other than what was planned,” he continued, ensuring that he “does not consider” that building a wall is a solution to the migration crisis.
A White House spokesperson also issued a clarification on the matter.
“It is absolutely false that this is a change [política]”, declared Andrew Bates, in a message published on the social network X, formerly Twitter.
“Congress forces us to act in accordance with a 2019 law (…). We apply the law,” he assured.
Donald Trump, Biden’s rival and favorite for the Republican nomination for the 2024 presidential election, reacted immediately.
“The Biden administration’s announcement shows that it was right to build 900 kilometers (…) of a beautiful new border wall,” he wrote on his social platform Truth Social.
The secretary of the Department of Homeland Security specified in his official note that the funds for “supplementary physical barriers” come from a donation approved by Congress and with that precise objective, when Trump still occupied the White House.
He also confirmed that all 26 federal laws, which include legislation on the environment and protected species, will be suspended to allow construction of the new section of the wall.
Illegal immigration remains a growing political issue for Biden, subject to growing criticism from Republicans who accuse him of laxity.
Recently, the federal administration was on the brink of closure due to disagreements between the two political camps: the right wing of the Republican Party opposed the release of additional funds for Ukraine at war and invaded by Russia, considering that this money should be disbursed first . used to combat the immigration crisis on the border between the United States and Mexico.
“Will Joe Biden apologize to me and the United States? [Estados Unidos] (…) for allowing our country to be invaded by 15 million illegal immigrants, coming from unknown places?” Trump also noted on the social network Truth Social.
The decision was met with disappointment among environmental activists.
Laiken Jordahl of the Center for Biodiversity, quoted by the AFP news agency, called it “demoralizing,” lamenting that the president “dispenses with environmental protection laws to build ineffective border walls that kill wildlife.”
Source: TSF
