(NewsNation) — The Biden administration gave the green light to further construction of the southern border wall in Texas amid mounting political pressure from both sides of the aisle to address the immigration crisis. However, one Arizona representative claims it won’t stop illegal entries.
The White House announced it will permit the continuation of wall construction along a 20-mile stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border in Starr County, Texas. To kickstart this project, the administration is opting to waive more than two dozen federal regulations.
This controversial decision has gone against Biden’s previous promise that his administration would not build another inch of border wall.
Starr County, dubbed “Cartel Island,” is where armed cartel members wearing body armor were nabbed in the Rio Grande Valley Sector.
Arizona Rep. Juan Ciscomani, who sits on the House Appropriations Committee, is part of the task force to combat cartels. He said this move by the president doesn’t seem to really address the problem of endless illegal entries.
“This goes way beyond resources, you can put more agents there, you can put more technology, you can finish the wall, you can do all these kinds of things that we’re gearing toward. However, the real difference will be on the policy side,” Ciscomani said.
It is worth noting that the Biden administration started filling gaps in the Yuma border wall at the beginning of the year, at that point citing environmental concerns.
Ciscomani also said while the administration has the funding to do this portion of the wall, if they continue building beyond the 20 miles, they may need some funding from Congress.
The administration’s about-face comes after the White House began auctioning off the border wall construction materials back in August for pennies on the dollar.
The Department of Defense auctioned off $260 million worth of those materials and then spent an additional nearly $47 million to store the unused materials, Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., said. At the same time, the administration refused to finish the wall.
Former President Donald Trump, who introduced the idea of a border wall and began initial construction during his administration, says he will await an apology from Biden over his recent move to allow the wall to be constructed in southern Texas.
