US Vice President Joe Biden defended plans to expand the border wall with Mexico on Thursday, saying he didn’t think such barriers worked but was constrained by legislation enacted by Donald Trump.
Democrat Joe Biden stated during his 2020 presidential campaign against Trump that he would renounce the hard-right Republican’s flagship program and would not build any more of the wall.
However, his own Department of Homeland Security announced on Thursday the construction of a new portion in southern Texas to address a “acute and immediate need” as the number of migrant crossings increases.
In a further development, the White House announced that it would restart deportation flights to Venezuela, one of the main countries of origin for the migrants.
Biden, who is polling neck-and-neck with rival Trump ahead of a likely 2024 rematch, insisted his predecessor had tied his hands on the wall-building.
“They have to use the money for what it was appropriated for. I can’t stop that,” he told reporters in the Oval Office.
He said the cash was earmarked for the border wall by the US Congress under Trump in 2019, and that lawmakers had since rejected his appeals to reassign the funds.
Asked if he thought the border wall was effective, Biden replied simply: “No.”
‘Absolutely false’
The issue of illegal immigration has been a huge political concern for Biden, with opponents accusing him of lax border policy.
The border issue has also complicated US aid to Ukraine, with some Republicans refusing to authorize cash until Biden takes action on migrants.
The new segment of wall will be erected in the “high illegal entry” Rio Grande Valley Sector of the US-Mexico border, where more than 245,000 illegal crossings have been attempted this fiscal year.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a notice in the Federal Register there was “an acute and immediate need to construct physical barriers and roads… in order to prevent unlawful entries.”
Mayorkas stated that the funds for the “additional physical barriers” would come from a Congressional provision issued in 2019, while Trump was still in power. According to officials, the funds must be spent this year.
Some Democrats chastised Biden for declaring in a proclamation on his first day in office in January 2021 that no more taxpayer monies would be granted for a wall.
The White House declared that the president’s reversal was “absolutely false.”
“We have to comply by law and that’s what we’re doing,” Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters.
‘I was Right’
Trump, the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, said the Biden administration move showed “I was right when I built 560 miles… of brand new, beautiful border wall.”
“Will Joe Biden appolgize (sic) to me and America for taking so long to get moving, and allowing our country to be flooded with 15 million illegals immigrants, from places unknown,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform.
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador slammed the US plan, calling it a “setback” ahead of talks with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is visiting Mexico.
The summit was called in response to an increase in the number of migrants attempting to cross from Mexico into the United States, primarily from Central America and Venezuela.
Later Thursday, the Biden administration stated that it would resume direct deportation flights to Venezuela, which is still sanctioned by the US for human rights violations.
“This comes following a decision from the authorities of Venezuela to accept back their nationals,” said a senior administration official.