“Not another foot.” 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, July 28th, tthe Biden administration approved a plan to complete a section of the border wall near Yuma, Arizona.
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.
The Yuma sector was notably busy under former President Trump, who had portions of the border wall constructed or reinforced. There was also a plaque installed along the Yuma border in 2020, affirming Trump’s role in securing the wall.
Biden’s decision to secure the border wall comes after Sen. Mark Kelly, D-AZ, has called on the president to secure the border. Republican lawmakers have made similar calls.
The Biden administration’s quiet approval of the wall’s construction also comes after Biden often used it as a means of contrasting his policies with those of the Trump administration.
In the past, Biden was repeatedly critical of Trump, his border wall, and his immigration policies — which he referred to as “xenophobic” and “racist.”
Biden specifically wrote that the slogan “build the wall” was “divorced from reality” and a wall “won’t stop the flow of illegal narcotics or human trafficking, both of which come primarily through legal ports of entry.”
“Nor will it stem the numbers of undocumented, most of whom over-stay legal visas,” he added.
Source: OEM