The Biden administration has shifted its stance, waiving federal laws to fast-track construction of the U.S.-Mexico border wall in Starr County, Texas.
The Biden administration, in an about-face to its previous stance, declared Wednesday that there was an “immediate need” to expedite the construction of U.S.-Mexico border walls in Starr County, Texas, in response to the ever-growing number of illegal entries by migrants.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said he will waive dozens of federal regulations—26 in total—in order to fast-track the construction of roads and barriers along the southern border in Texas.
The new barriers will be built within the Border Patrol’s Rio Grande Valley Sector. These areas were designated “high illegal entry” zones and construction efforts will focus on these locations.
These areas encompass the vicinity of the Falcon Dam, the Arroyo Morteros Tract, the Las Ruinas Tract, the Arroyo Ramirez Tract, intersections of major roads like Perez Road and U.S. Highway 83, as well as various tracts within the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge.
Mr. Mayorkas issued the waiver and determination on Wednesday (pdf) citing U.S. Border Patrol figures that show more than 245,000 migrants have illegally crossed the border at Starr County since early August.
“There is presently an acute and immediate need to construct physical barriers and roads in the vicinity of the border of the United States,” Mr. Mayorkas said. “Therefore, I must use my authority under section 102 of IIRIRA to install additional physical barriers and roads in the Rio Grande Valley Sector. Therefore, DHS will take immediate action to construct barriers and roads.”
DHS intends to fund the construction project using appropriations allocated by Congress during the Trump administration in 2019 for the purpose of building the border wall in the Rio Grande Valley.
In order to build the walls and roads to deter illegal immigration, Mr. Mayorkas determined that it is necessary, under Section 102 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA), to “waive certain laws, regulations, and other legal requirements.”
