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Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Wednesday that the U.S. has an “acute and immediate need” to build border wall in southern Texas, and he issued an order waiving some of the country’s most iconic environmental protection laws to speed up construction.
Mr. Mayorkas identified dozens of miles of border where he plans to build barriers and roads and where he indicated that those environmental laws would be a hindrance.
“There is presently an acute and immediate need to construct physical barriers and roads in the vicinity of the border of the United States in order to prevent unlawful entries into the United States in the project areas,” Mr. Mayorkas said in an official filing in the Federal Register. “In order to ensure the expeditious construction of the barriers and roads in the project areas, I have determined that it is necessary that I exercise the authority that is vested in me by section 102(c) of IIRIRA.”
The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act gives the homeland security secretary the power to waive laws when necessary to facilitate border construction.
On Thursday, the Biden administration plans to be in court to try to stop Texas’ floating wall in the Rio Grande, arguing it hurts river navigation.
Mr. Mayorkas’ waiver covers 26 federal laws, including the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.
The secretary previously announced that he would build miles of wall, countering President Biden’s 2020 campaign promise that there would “not be another foot of wall constructed” by his administration.
Mr. Mayorkas said his hands were tied by congressional spending bills requiring money to be used for border wall construction. The administration delayed for several years and pleaded with Congress to revoke the funds, but those efforts failed.
Declaring the wall an “immediate” need and waiving the laws were too much for environmental groups.
“It’s disheartening to see President Biden stoop to this level, casting aside our nation’s bedrock environmental laws to build ineffective wildlife-killing border walls,” said Laiken Jordahl at the Center for Biological Diversity. “This is a horrific step backwards for the borderlands.”
The center said this is the first time the Biden administration has used the wall waiver authority.
The group said the construction envisioned by the Biden administration goes through the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge. Among the species protected by the refuge are the endangered ocelot and the jaguarundi.
Building the wall was presidential candidate Donald Trump’s marquee promise in 2016.
The Trump administration was prolific with waivers as it built more than 450 miles of wall, drawing fierce condemnation from environmentalists.
Much of that fencing replaced outdated fences or, in many locations, replaced vehicle barriers that were easy to climb on foot.
A Government Accountability Office report last month said wall construction caused “significant damage” to sites sacred to American Indians living along the border. The GAO dinged the government for failing to consult with communities about mitigating the impacts of the wall.
GAO also took issue with Mr. Biden’s 2021 decision to halt construction. It pointed out that a construction halt stopped remediation efforts to repair lands disturbed during the building.
Mr. Mayorkas has repeatedly refused to call the unprecedented flow of illegal immigrants at the border a crisis. He has, however, announced repeated policy resets to try to stem the flow.
The wall is yet another reversal, though one forced by Congress.
In 2021, Mr. Mayorkas said he was open to closing “gaps” left in the wall by Mr. Biden’s construction halt. He ruled out large-scale wall construction, telling “Fox News Sunday” that under “the policy of this administration, we do not agree with a building of the wall.”
That runs counter to the advice of Border Patrol agents, who say a wall across the nearly 2,000-mile border isn’t needed but more sections need barriers.
Agents say the wall helps funnel border crossers toward agents and helps ensure detection.
Border Patrol sector chiefs testified to Congress earlier this year about the value of a wall.
Agents also say they want the roads and technology of the Trump-style wall. The technology helps detect intrusions, and the roads help agents get to where they need to be to apprehend those who make it across the border.
Mr. Mayorkas, in his notice in the Federal Register, said he would build both barriers and roads.
He said the department “will take immediate action.”
“Construction will be funded by a fiscal year 2019 appropriation through which Congress appropriated funds for the construction border barrier in the Rio Grande Valley, and DHS is required to use those funds for their appropriated purpose,” he said.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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