OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
President Joe Biden’s administration has approved a Trump-era project to finish a section of the southern border wall in Yuma, Arizona.
“Those were the words Joe Biden used as a mantra throughout his 2020 presidential campaign regarding the construction of the U.S.-Mexico border wall. But on Thursday, the Biden administration approved a plan to complete a section of the border wall near Yuma, Arizona,” Fox News reported. “The plan includes filling four major gaps in the wall that continue to allow the Yuma area to be one of the busiest corridors for illegal immigration crossings.”
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas authorized the Trump-era plan in an effort to “deploy modern, effective border measures” and improve “safety and security along the Southwest Border,” the agency said.
“Yuma’s border sector remains an unsolved issue for the Biden administration as border patrol agents have already stopped migrants more than 160,000 times from January through June in the sector this year. The figure is nearly quadruple the number of migrant stops from last year and the Yuma sector remains the busiest migrant sector in the state of Arizona,” Fox News added.
Biden admin quietly approves construction of U.S.-Mexico border wall near Yuma, Arizona https://t.co/N7p4I9BF84
— Fox News (@FoxNews) July 29, 2022
Earlier this month, Biden approved a project to finish a section of the southern border wall in California.
Friends of Friendship Park told KPBS that U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials said that the primary and secondary border fences along the park will be replaced with 30-foot walls.
“The park, a binational spot between San Diego and Tijuana, represents the western-most point of the U.S. along the border with Mexico. It has been the only place along the southern border where people in the U.S. could see and even touch relatives in Mexico,” the report stated.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas approved the designs, which were initially authorized by the Trump administration in the budget for Fiscal Year 2018, the Daily Mail reported.
The project will replace and further extend existing barriers with two walls that began being added during the Trump administration.
“This latest announcement really amounts to the complete desecration of this historic location,” said Rev. John Fanestil, a longtime Friendship Park advocate. “We believe that the Biden administration should not be putting the finishing touches on Donald Trump’s border wall at Friendship Park.”
“We were kind of under the illusion that when Border Field State Park was going to reopen, they were going to reopen Friendship Park as well,” Rev. Seth Clark told KPBS. “But that has not happened.”
The administration insists the construction is to “replace” existing walls, despite using Trump-era designs.
Last week, Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott took an action of his own to help secure the border.
The governor signed an executive order that has instructed the state’s National Guard to be deployed and to bring the illegal immigrants back to the border.
“While President Biden refuses to do his job and enforce the immigration laws enacted by Congress, the State of Texas is once again stepping up and taking unprecedented action to protect Americans and secure our southern border,” the governor said in the press release. “The cartels have become emboldened and enriched by President Biden’s open border policies, smuggling in record numbers of people, weapons, and deadly drugs like fentanyl.”
“As noted in the executive order, the Biden Administration ‘has abandoned the covenant, in Article IV, § 4 of the U.S. Constitution, that ‘[t]he United States . . . shall protect each [State in this Union] against Invasion,’ and thus has forced the State of Texas to build a border wall, deploy state military forces, and enter into agreements as described in Article I, § 10 of the U.S. Constitution to secure the State of Texas and repel the illegal immigration that funds the cartels,’” he said.
“I have authorized the Texas National Guard and Texas Department of Public Safety to begin returning illegal immigrants to the border to stop this criminal enterprise endangering our communities,” he said. “As the challenges on the border continue to increase, Texas will continue to take action to address those challenges caused by the Biden Administration.”
It comes after Arizona Republican Governor Doug Ducey decided to do the job that Biden has not been willing to do.
The governor signed legislation to strengthen the border between his state and Mexico as the border crisis continues to be an issue.
“Inaction by President Joe Biden has led to the worst border crisis in over 20 years,” the governor said.
In a signing letter, he said, “I’ve been outspoken about the impact this crisis has on Arizonans, our communities, and migrants. We’ve taken numerous steps to help resolve the chaos, including deploying the Arizona National Guard, signing legislation to address human smuggling and transporting migrants on a voluntary basis to Washington, D.C. Ultimately, however, securing our border is the responsibility of the federal government… With this investment, we are giving our law enforcement professionals another critical resource they need to successfully do their jobs. We are standing up for the rule of law, and we are cementing Arizona’s commitment to securing our state and our entire nation.”
“The number of migrant encounters has skyrocketed at our border, overwhelming law enforcement and the Border Patrol,” Rep. John Kavanagh, who sponsored the legislation, said. “Thanks to the absent federal government, our border is in chaos and out of control. We need more support and physical barriers. This is a reasonable investment in Arizona’s safety and security. I’m grateful for Governor Ducey’s leadership to take action and secure the border.”
