The Yuma Morelos Dam project will close four gaps located within an “uncompleted border barrier project” near the dam, the Department of Homeland Security said in a media release. In addition to posing “risks to the safety and life of migrants,” the department said the gaps in the wall posed a risk to the “life and safety” of first responders in the area.
Upon his inauguration, President Joe Biden called for a review of current border wall projects and rescinded a national emergency declaration authorized by his predecessor that allowed then-President Donald Trump to invest additional funds in building his signature border wall.
The Biden administration canceled several border wall contracts and also returned some property to landowners who spent years fighting the land grab in court. But DHS said in December that it plans to close small gaps in the U.S.-Mexico border wall and make adjustments to prevent flooding and complete previous access road construction.
Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona, who faces a tough re-election this fall, praised the decision to close the loopholes in the wall. He said in a statement that he first pressed the president to approve closing the loopholes in December and had “numerous conversations” with the White House and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
The Biden administration has been criticized by allies and critics alike for its management of the US’s southern border. The administration has struggled to deal with the influx of migrants coming to the border, and lawsuits and infighting have held up policy changes, leading to more of the same Trump immigration policies.
The Supreme Court earlier this month refused to freeze a lower court order that blocked DHS from implementing new immigration enforcement priorities. The court’s 5-4 order was a loss for the Biden administration, which is trying to return to Obama-era policies that limited immigration arrests to focus on security risks instead of the more aggressive approach taken under the administration. Trump.
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