President Joe Biden is facing criticism after the White House said the U.S. will add sections to a border wall to stop migrant crossings from Mexico.
According to Reuters, Biden says he has no choice but to push through the construction as funding was already approved by former President Donald Trump.
"I tried to get them to redirect that money. They didn't, they wouldn't," Biden said. "I can't stop that."
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."
Republicans have criticized the President for being hypocritical, as he has previously said he would not approve construction of a border wall. Meanwhile, Democrats have said that border walls are not effective.
Trump, meanwhile, took to social media to praise the announcement.
"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..."
The section of border wall will be completed in the Rio Grande Valley Sector in Starr County, where Border Patrol agents have encountered more than 245,000 people entering the United States this fiscal year, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said.
“There is presently an acute and immediate need to construct physical barriers and roads in the vicinity of the border of the United States to prevent unlawful entries," he said.
The White House, in a statement, said it is trying to fix a “broken immigration system" that Biden "inherited.”
Biden’s administration has tried to push through efforts to make more legal pathways for migrants and invest in border security technology.
Meanwhile, migrant crossings have jumped to record highs this year, but a Trump-era COVID policy that had been in effect until May of this year allowed border agents to expel migrants without letting them apply for asylum.
When the policy expired, Biden replaced it with a new rule that requires migrants to make an appointment on a government-run smartphone app before approaching a legal port of entry.
Photo Courtesy: ©Getty Images/DanielIngelhart
Video Courtesy: PBS News Hour via YouTube
Amanda Casanova is a writer living in Dallas, Texas. She has covered news for ChristianHeadlines.com since 2014. She has also contributed to The Houston Chronicle, U.S. News and World Report and IBelieve.com. She blogs at The Migraine Runner.
