US-Mexico Border: Why Did Joe Biden Approve New Wall Construction in Arizona?

The gaps in the U.S-Mexico border in Arizona will be closed after the U.S. Customs and Border Protection has received authorization from the White House on Thursday.

CNN News reported that the filling of the gaps in the border wall will be done to protect migrants from drowning and sustaining injuries while trying to cross the Colorado River into the United States.

The Department of Homeland Security said in a news release that the Yuma Morelos Dam Project will close four gaps in an "incomplete border barrier project" near the dam. The DHS also noted that the gaps in the wall pose a "life and safety" risk to first responders in the area.

U.S. President Joe Biden did halt several border wall contracts and has returned some property to landowners who had fought land seizures in court.

Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona praised the decision to close the gaps between the border wall. He said in a statement that he called for the president to give the go signal for the reconstruction of the border wall to close the gaps. Kelly also said that he has had "numerous calls" with the White House and DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

U.S.-Mexico Border Wall

The area where a project is set to be completed is the third busiest crossing for migrants who can easily walk across the river to surrender to border officials.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump placed the construction of the border wall a top priority, while Biden suspended all border wall construction after he took office.

Meanwhile, Arizona environmentalist Myles Traphagen said that closing the border wall gaps will not be much of a deterrent.

Traphagen has been plotting the ecological damage left by border wall construction under Trump, according to an NBC News report. He noted that the Yuma area has turned into the new "Ellis Island for Arizona," adding that people are arriving there from countries such as Ethiopia, Cuba, Russia, Ukraine, India, Colombia, and Nicaragua.

U.S.-Mexico Border Wall Gaps

In March, The Guardian reported that smugglers have breached the border wall more than 3,000 times.

Luis Miranda, a spokesperson for CBP, said that no structure is impenetrable. Miranda noted that they will continue to work to focus resources on modern measures to ramp up safety and security.

Trump promised that Mexico would pay for the construction of the border wall and it would be "virtually impenetrable" before its construction. Part of the border wall is constructed using posts cemented in concrete at the base, supporting a long lintel at the top.

Smuggler saw through the posts and swing them open, continuing the same technique until the damage is detected by the border patrol.

Meanwhile, other sections have been damaged by monsoons.

Smuggling organizations have sawn large holes to pass an SUV through the border wall. One SUV was loaded with 23 migrants, which passed through a section of border wall near San Diego. It then collided with a semi-truck, which led to the death of 13 people.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: Hole in border fence repaired where vehicle drove through before killing 13 in crash - from CBS 8 San Diego