Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas clarified President Joe Biden’s border policy, stating that “a border wall is not the answer” to ending illegal immigration after the agency announced it would construct new miles of border wall in south Texas.
This week, Biden’s DHS announced the construction of about 20 miles of border wall in Starr County, Texas, which sits across from Tamaulipas, Mexico.
Immediately, Biden and Mayorkas faced mounting criticism from the far-left of the Democrat Party, such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), who urged the DHS to “reverse course” in a statement:
A wall does nothing to deter people who are fleeing poverty and violence from coming to the United States. You do not risk your life or your childrens’ lives going through the Darién Gap or traversing hundreds of miles of desert if you have any other options. Walls only serve to push migrants into more remote areas, increasing their chances of death. It is a cruel policy. [Emphasis added]
In response, Mayorkas issued a statement late Thursday, claiming that the federal notice regarding the construction of the border wall had been “taken out of context and it does not signify any change in policy whatsoever.”
“I want to address today’s reporting relating to a border wall and be absolutely clear: There is no new administration policy with respect to border walls. From day one, this administration has made clear that a border wall is not the answer,” Mayorkas said. “That remains our position and our position has never wavered.”
Mayorkas also said that Congress should rescind all funding for border wall construction previously allocated under former President Donald Trump’s administration.
“We have repeatedly asked Congress to rescind this money but it has not done so and we are compelled to follow the law,” Mayorkas said.
Under Biden’s current border policy, which asks border crossers and illegal aliens to come to ports of entry (POEs) to then be released into American communities, the construction of additional miles of border wall is unlikely to lower illegal immigration levels.
Monthly, Biden’s DHS releases more than 60,000 border crossers and illegal aliens into the U.S. interior through its expansive Catch and Release network.
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Randy Clark / BreitbartJohn Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter here.
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