Biden makes a 180-degree turn: announces extension of border wall
06.10.2023
The Biden administration announced an extension of border wall construction. He said he had no choice because by law, the funds allocated by the Trump administration for the wall must be used up in 2023.
(Deutsche Welle Chinese website) The U.S. government said on Thursday (October 5) that President Biden has ordered the construction of an additional border wall on a section of the border between the United States and Mexico. Large numbers of migrants cross this section of the border heading to the United States. The decision marks a U-turn for Biden on the issue. When he first took office, he said:“American taxpayer money will no longer be used to build a border wall.”The program is a signature policy of the Trump administration.
President Biden defended the move, saying he had no legal choice. Asked if he thought a border wall would stop immigration, Biden responded: “No.”
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said building a new wall would be a step in the wrong direction. “Approving the construction of the wall is a step backwards,” López Obrador told a news conference ahead of talks with Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other senior U.S. officials in Mexico City.
The uninhabited land between the United States and Mexico
Waiting behind barbed wire
The migrants surrendered to U.S. Border Patrol agents after crossing the border fence on the U.S.-Mexico border. On May 11, the United States officially ended the COVID-19 state of emergency. As a result, the controversial “Article 42” border clause signed by former US President Trump during the 2020 COVID-19 epidemic prevention period will also become invalid.
The uninhabited land between the United States and Mexico
overcome obstacles
At the U.S.-Mexico border, for a group of people who had just climbed over the barbed wire fence on the U.S. side of the Rio Grande, the end of the entry ban means hope: “Title 42” allows U.S. authorities to quickly deport people at the border during the new coronavirus pandemic of illegal immigration. Since the ban was implemented, the United States has denied entry to more than 2.5 million people.
The uninhabited land between the United States and Mexico
Section 8 replaces section 42
Long lines formed at the U.S.-Mexico border fence. The U.S. government emphasized that the border will not be opened after “Article 42” expires. At the same time, “Article 8” border provisions will apply: if immigrants are likely to face persecution and torture in their country of origin, they can apply for asylum. Those who do not apply for asylum can be deported immediately.
The uninhabited land between the United States and Mexico
dangerous misunderstanding
Many officials expect an influx of refugees along the 3,100-kilometer border between the United States and Mexico. Because many immigrants interpret the end of “Section 42” as the beginning of the relaxation of immigration policies. The group was crossing the Rio Grande on a rope suspended from the river.
The uninhabited land between the United States and Mexico
longing for safety
On the Mexican side of the Rio Grande, this woman, like many immigrants from South and Central America, hoped for a better life in the United States. The U.S. government estimates that there are more than 150,000 migrants in northern Mexico hoping to reach the United States. These are people who have fled their homes because of poverty, violence, authoritarian regimes, natural disasters or organized crime.
The uninhabited land between the United States and Mexico
Have hope
They made it into the United States: Immigrants sit in front of a church in El Paso, Texas. The border city’s mayor, Oscar Leeser, expects as many as 15,000 new immigrants to arrive in the coming days and weeks. He explained that there are 8,000 to 10,000 immigrants waiting in the neighboring Mexican city of Ciudad Juarez. In addition, a refugee group is heading to Ciudad Juárez.
The uninhabited land between the United States and Mexico
Dining style and sleeping outdoors
But authorities in many U.S. border towns are already overwhelmed. In El Paso, a group of immigrants who were spared deportation are living on the streets. Children beg in the streets. There are only temporary health facilities in the area.
The uninhabited land between the United States and Mexico
between fences
This group of immigrants is stuck in the no man’s land between the United States and Mexico. Whether the end of “Article 42” means that they can enter the United States, which is regarded as the “Land of Opportunity”, is still debatable: the Biden administration has announced that it will continue to take strict measures against illegal border crossings and dispatched 1,500 soldiers to support border control.
Biden says there’s ‘no way to stop’ the construction
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said that a new section of the wall will be built in the Rio Grande Valley area of the U.S.-Mexico border, which he called a “high-incidence area for illegal immigration.”
The Homeland Security secretary said about 245,000 people have crossed into the United States from here during the current fiscal year. Mayorkas said that the U.S. Federal Register reminded that “there is an urgent need to build physical barriers and roads near the U.S. border to prevent illegal entry.”
The agency also said it needs to waive some laws, regulations and other legal requirements “to ensure the rapid construction of barriers and roads near the international land border in Starr County, Texas.”
Mayorkas said the expansion will utilize funds allocated for border barrier construction in 2019 during the Trump administration.
Biden later said he “cannot stop” the construction because the law states that the funds must be used and the project completed in 2023. He said he tried to move the funds but was blocked by Congress.
Prior to this, the Biden administration introduced in mid-MayNew, stricter asylum laws, the number of people crossing the border dropped, then started to rise again. Poverty and insecurity, especially in countries like Venezuela and Haiti, have been forcing people from their homes.
Trump seized on the Biden administration’s announcement of the extension to claim victory for his border wall policy. Trump, 77, is the current frontrunner for the Republican presidential candidate, and Biden, 80, also plans to run again.
Some U.S. cities are unhappy with the increase in migrants crossing the border. The mayor of Eagle Pass, Texas, declared a state of emergency after thousands of migrants arrived in recent days.
New York Mayor Eric Adams set out on Thursday to visit Mexico, Colombia and Ecuador to tell potential immigrants that New York City cannot accommodate them.
(Reuters, AFP, AP)
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2023-10-06 11:57:14
