Interviewer: Trump campaigned on ‘Build that wall,’ are you willing to tear that wall down?
Joe Biden: No. There will not be another foot of wall constructed in my administration.
The Biden administration has been quietly moving forward with plans to fast-track border wall construction in Southern Texas. It’s a far cry from his campaign promise to not build “another foot” back in 2020.
The White House says they are addressing an “immediate need” to reduce illegal crossings.
The Biden administration has waived 26 federal laws, including the Clean Air Act and Safe Drinking Water Act, to speed up the process.
Since 2021, the number of people illegally crossing the border has surged. In the last year, that number has increased fivefold - from 4,000 to over 22,000 people.
Annenberg Media Center director and longtime former political journalist Christina Bellantoni says that the administration is trying to appeal to more right-wing voters.
Christina Bellantoni: They’re not as worried about that Democratic progressive vote. They want to show, particularly as Republicans increasingly say, “so many people coming over the border, so much crime, so many problems, so much despair, you got to do something about immigration enforcement.” This one small thing is not going to break President Biden’s reelection campaign, but it will irritate his supporters and, in the end, it’s going to inflame the right.
With greater numbers of migrants comes ballooning housings costs. Cities across America have struggled to deal with the sudden influx, and New York City alone expects to pay twelve billion dollars over the next three years to house their migrants.
Some high-ranking Democrats are joining Republicans in pressuring the Biden administration to take more decisive action on immigration.
Bellantoni: You have heard some Democratic politicians saying, ‘we’ve got to do something’ but for the most part that line is always comprehensive immigration, you can’t do one thing without the other. You can’t just build a wall without policies in place to support people who are already here.
Biden told reporters this morning that there was nothing he could do to stop the construction. He also admitted that border walls are ineffective.
Joe Biden: I tried to get them to reappropriate, to redirect that money. They didn’t, they wouldn’t. And in the meantime, there’s nothing under the law other than they have to use the money for what was appropriate. I can’t stop that.
Reporter: Do you believe the border wall works?
Joe Biden: No.
Immigration continues to be a hot-button issue.
Bellantoni: It’s rare that you find an issue that motivates both the left and the right, but this is one that for a very long time has been the biggest flashpoint. It’s cost people elections and primaries, it’s cost people general elections and it’s had zero headway politically.