Biden Faces Criticism After Halting Border Wall Construction
President Joe Biden was criticized for his decision to halt the construction of former President Donald Trump's border wall.
Early into his term, Biden ordered a "pause" on all border wall constructions within a week. It was one of the 17 executive actions he issued on his first day at the White House, alongside six other immigration-related dealings.
Biden's order leaves billions of dollars' worth of construction work on the border wall unfinished.
According to The Associated Press, Biden did not want to build "another foot" of the controversial border wall. He gave his administration two months to find out how much it would cost to cancel contracted related to the construction and whether money for the border wall could be spent elsewhere.
Republicans Slam Biden for Stopping Development of Border Wall
Republicans slammed Biden for his decision to stop progress on the border wall.
In particular, House Minority Leader Kevin McMarthy accused Biden of putting illegal immigrants' welfare before Americans.
"President Biden wants to give 11 million illegal immigrants citizenship-while nearly 11 million Americans are out of work," he said in a tweet Saturday. "Shouldn't we prioritize Americans first?"
He also said he was disappointed to see that in Biden's first hours in office, he was "more interested in helping illegal immigrants than helping our own citizens."
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The GOP leader believed that Biden's first immigration orders were the "wrong priorities at the wrong time" and that he should instead focus on the needs of Americans, reported One America News.
President Biden wants to give 11 million illegal immigrants citizenship—while nearly 11 million Americans are out of work.
— Kevin McCarthy (@SpeakerMcCarthy) January 22, 2021
Shouldn't we prioritize Americans first? pic.twitter.com/ck571hlfWg
Arizona Rep. Debbie Lesko also took to Twitter to express her disappointment in the order. She then went on to list the positive things she saw about it: border security and national security and reduced drug and human trafficking.
I am disappointed in President Biden’s executive order to halt border wall funding and construction. The wall has strengthened our border security and national security, and it has reduced drug and human trafficking.
— Congresswoman Debbie Lesko (@RepDLesko) January 21, 2021
Meanwhile, Congresswoman Diana Harshbarger called Biden's border wall pause a "liberal agenda."
President Biden’s first actions halt construction of President Trump’s border wall, block the Keystone XL Pipeline and re-enter the Paris Climate Accord. Instead of putting Americans first, he’s implementing a liberal agenda to score points with the international community.
— Rep. Diana Harshbarger (@RepHarshbarger) January 21, 2021
For her, Biden's decision to halt the border wall construction was a way to "score points with the international community."
Biden's Border Wall Construction Order May Be 'Purely Political'
The president of Advocates for Victims of Illegal Alien Crime, Don Rosenberg, told Fox News on Friday that Biden's immigrant orders may be "purely political."
Rosenberg spotted a hint of "irony" in Biden's actions as the president constantly told people to listen to experts when it comes to the pandemic but has been "refusing to listen to the experts, many of whom worked in the Obama administration, with him because it's purely political."
"They keep saying walls don't work and they're too expensive. They don't want a wall or a physical barrier because it does work, not because it doesn't work," he added.
He pointed out that there has been support for a physical barrier "for 20 years."
On the other hand, advocates against the wall are not just citing immigration issues but also environmental ones.
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A 2020 article from National Geographic detailed that there were some irreversible impacts to the border wall, including the draining of desert aquifers, pollution and misuse of sacred resources.
Talking to ProPublica, general counsel of the Project on Government Oversight Scott Amey said there may be "certain portions of the wall" that need to be completed, whether Biden likes it or not due to some gaps that could be exploited and the cost of terminating contracts.
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