On Wednesday, the Biden administration said that it has waived 26 federal rules in South Texas to allow border wall building, marking the administration’s first use of expansive executive power used frequently during Trump’s presidency.
The notice was made on the U.S. Federal Registry by the Department of Homeland Security, with minimal information defining the construction in Starr County, Texas, which is part of a busy Border Patrol sector experiencing “high illegal entry.” According to government data, over 245,000 illegal entries have been documented in the Rio Grande Valley Sector, which includes 21 counties, so far this fiscal year.
“There is presently an acute and immediate need to construct physical barriers and roads in the vicinity of the border of the United States to prevent unlawful entries into the United States in the project areas,” Alejandro Mayorkas, the DHS secretary, stated in the notice.
Border wall construction in Starr County
The Clean Air Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, and Endangered Species Act were among the federal statutes waived by DHS to make room for border wall construction using monies from a congressional appropriation in 2019. The waivers prevent time-consuming reviews and lawsuits contesting environmental law violations.
Starr County’s rugged ranchlands, located between Zapata and McAllen, Texas, are home to around 65,000 residents who live in a sparsely populated area of approximately 1,200 square miles (3,108 square kilometers) that is part of the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge.
Despite the lack of maps in the release, CBP announced the project in June and began collecting public comments in August when it shared a map of the extra work, which may add up to 20 miles (32 kilometers) to the area’s existing border barrier system. According to Starr County Judge Eloy Vera, it will begin south of the Falcon Dam and continue past Salineo, Texas.
“The other concern that we have is that the area is highly erosive. There’s a lot of arroyos,” Eloy Vera, the county judge said, pointing out the creeks cutting through the ranchland and leading into the river.
Environmentalists are concerned because the constructions will run through public grounds, which are home to endangered plants and creatures such as the Ocelot, a spotted wild cat.
“A plan to build a wall through will bulldoze an impermeable barrier straight through the heart of that habitat. It will stop wildlife migrations dead in their tracks. It will destroy a huge amount of wildlife refuge land. And it’s a horrific step backward for the borderlands,” Laiken Jordahl, a southwest conservation advocate for the Center for Biological Diversity, said Wednesday afternoon.
Trump’s legacy and Biden’s stance
Between 2017 and January 2021, the Trump administration constructed approximately 450 miles (724 kilometers) of border barriers along the southwest border. After the Biden administration discontinued them at the outset of his presidency, Texas Governor Greg Abbott relaunched them.
The DHS decision contrasts with the Biden administration’s posturing, which claimed in a declaration to cease construction on Jan. 20, 2021, that “building a massive wall that spans the entire southern border is not a serious policy solution.”
CBP stated in a statement Wednesday that the project is by the 2021 decree. “Congress appropriated fiscal year 2019 funds for the construction of border barrier in the Rio Grande Valley, and DHS is required to use those funds for their appropriated purpose,” the statement said. “CBP remains committed to protecting the nation’s cultural and natural resources and will implement sound environmental practices as part of the project covered by this waiver.”
Democratic opposition vs. calls for security enhancement
The announcement sparked political discussion in the Democratic administration, which has seen an increase in the number of migrants entering the country across the southern border in recent months, including hundreds who crossed through Eagle Pass at the end of September.
“A border wall is a 14th-century solution to a 21st-century problem. It will not bolster border security in Starr County,” U.S. Representative Henry Cuellar said in a statement. “I continue to stand against the wasteful spending of taxpayer dollars on an ineffective border wall.”
The waivers, according to supporters of the border wall, should be utilized as a springboard for a policy shift.
“After years of denying that a border wall and other physical barriers are effective, the DHS announcement represents a sea change in the administration’s thinking: A secure wall is an effective tool for maintaining control of our borders,” Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, said in a statement. “Having made that concession, the administration needs to immediately begin construction of a wall across the border to prevent the illegal traffic from simply moving to other areas of the border.”