A court has decided that the money that Congress set aside to build the border wall cannot be used for other purposes, which is a huge setback for President Joe Biden. Upon taking office, Biden immediately halted all wall building. The judge’s decision rules that the money must go toward wall building, just as planned.
Reports show that U.S. District Judge Drew Tipton found that the Biden administration disregarded Congress’s intent when it diverted $1.4 billion from border wall construction to other uses in a lawsuit brought by Texas and several other states. The states asked Tipton to prevent DHS personnel from embezzling the money. Judge Tipton ruled the funds shall be used to construct a wall along the southern border.
The lawsuits allege that Congress approved $1.4 billion in funding for a border wall between the US and Mexico in 2020 and 2021. However, President Biden halted the obligation of these funds, leading to the development of two alternative strategies that did not include the construction of the border wall. DHS focused on ensuring the stability of pre-existing border infrastructure.
According to the states, the $1.4 billion the Biden administration spent on cleaning, flood control, and environmental remediation projects was misappropriated since it wasn’t used for its original purpose.
Tipton approved the plaintiffs’ request to use federal funds to construct a wall along the border. The new border wall system has significantly reduced drug and smuggling activity in the El Paso region, according to DHS statistics. Data also shows a significant decline in illegal crossings in the Yuma and Rio Grande Valley sectors.
Tipton said that the increasing number of illegal immigrants causes financial hardship for the state of Texas due to the high expense of providing driver’s licenses, schools, and healthcare to these individuals. According to Tipton, these harms are real and linked to DHS actions, and Texas will probably endure harms from which the state would never be able to recover.
