Rep. Ilhan Omar has criticized President Joe Biden for continuing the construction of Donald Trump’s “xenophobic and racist” southern border wall.
“It’s shameful and unacceptable for @POTUS to continue the construction of Trump’s xenophobic and racist wall,” Omar said on Twitter.
The Department of Homeland Security is planning to resume some construction along the wall in order to plug “gaps” in it, the Washington Times reported this week.
Biden had previously pledged not to build “another foot of wall,” during his presidency.
The news came after Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas reportedly told colleagues that while the White House had frozen spending for wall projects, “that leaves room to make decisions as the administration, as part of the administration, in particular areas of the wall that need renovation, particular projects that need to be finished.”
He said that “gaps,” gates, and parts of the wall where technology had not yet been installed could still be built, the Washington Times reported. The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to Insider’s request for comment on Wednesday.
President Biden froze federal funding for wall construction on his first day in office and issued a 60-day moratorium in which he instructed officials to find a legal way to divert billions of dollars in funding that had been allocated for the wall, a deadline which has since passed.
When asked whether the administration did plan to plug “gaps” in the wall, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said on Tuesday that most construction works had been paused but indicated that some for which funding had been allocated would continue.
“Wall construction remains paused, to the extent permitted by law,” Psaki said. “So some has already been funded through a congressional authorization and funding allocation. But as agencies develop for a plan – it’s paused while agencies are developing a plan for the President on the management of the federal funds.”
*story by Business Insider
