Joe Biden has just waived around 26 federal laws just to build the border wall in the Rio Grande Valley Sector in South Texas.
Here’s more from NBC News:
In a striking acknowledgment of the need to address the migrant influx at the southern border, the Biden administration announced it waived 26 federal laws to permit more border wall construction in southern Texas, a move that builds on one of the most controversial cornerstones of the Trump administration.
The Department of Homeland Security posted the announcement overnight in the Federal Registry, which said the administration was waiving federal laws such as the Clean Air Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Endangered Species Act for the wall construction in Starr County, Texas, using federal funds appropriated in 2019.
In a statement, a spokesperson for U.S. Customs and Border Protection noted that Mayorkas issued waiver under federal immigration law for a barrier project that was quietly announced in June, which will be constructed on about 17 miles in Starr County.
The administration’s new announcement marks a major policy reversal for Biden, who vowed that not “another foot of wall” would be constructed under his administration during his 2020 campaign. Upon taking office in 2021, he also issued an executive order which read in part: “It shall be the policy of my administration that no more American taxpayer dollars be diverted to construct a border wall. … Building a massive wall that spans the entire southern border is not a serious policy solution. It is a waste of money that diverts attention from genuine threats to our homeland security.”
Notably, the administration’s most recent announcement on border wall construction waives environmental laws to speed up the project at a time when it faces increasing pressure from fellow Democrats to take action at the border.
What’s striking about this is that it’s happening during election season. Democrats and Republicans on the border have been screaming for help for years, yet getting nothing from Biden and his DHS henchman Mayorkas. Now suddenly he’s ready to build 20 miles of border wall? They’ll say this is about stopping the flow of illegals in high volume areas, and that might be true to a point. But this is really an election play, just like this student loan bribe.