Only a couple of weeks after the Biden administration declared it would proceed with wall construction, a group of Senate Republicans pressed President Biden to extend wall construction along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), leading a group of 13 Republicans, wrote to Biden requesting that his administration amend the August supplemental funding request it sent, adding more funds for border construction.
“Your administration’s decision to continue construction of the Trump Administration’s physical border wall is a step in combating ‘high illegal entry’ rates. With that, more must be done,” the letter said.
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Earlier this month, the Biden administration declared that certain environmental regulations would be waived to permit construction along a heavily traveled section of the Texas border.
This reversal surprised many Democrats and the president’s allies who had opposed the construction of a border wall that the former president Trump had supported.
Biden has maintained that he was powerless because the money was set aside to construct a wall along the border. The wall will be built in Starr County, Texas, with money that Congress approved in 2019, before Biden became president.
Republicans in the Senate now hope Biden will request additional funding to build the wall.
They said that, “despite the Secretary’s subsequent decision to ramp up construction after years of inaction,” the August request that Biden sent did not include specific funding for building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Instead, it included billions for border management and assistance to Ukraine, among other things.
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“In light of Secretary Mayorkas’ announcement, we write to urge your administration to ensure that more land mass is covered by the border wall and for you to rescind and resubmit your August 2023 supplemental funding request to Congress to specifically include additional resources for construction,” the Republicans wrote.
“Under the current proposal, approximately 20 miles of border wall will be established. However, more must be done to deter unfettered illegal immigration, which is continuing at a record-breaking pace. If we are to ensure the safety of American communities, more miles of border wall must be constructed,” the lawmakers added.
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