In a surprising decision, US President Joe Biden announced on Thursday his intention to expand the wall on the border with Mexico, reversing a campaign promise not to build “one more foot” of wall. The Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, justified this measure by arguing the “acute and immediate need” to prevent illegal entries at the border. However, this action has been strongly criticized by the Mexican president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who considers it a “setback,” insisting on the need to address the underlying causes of migration.
The move has also raised concerns among environmentalists, as the government repealed a series of environmental laws and regulations to install new “physical barriers and additional roads” in Texas. This decision reflects a significant change in immigration policy by Biden, who initially suspended construction of the wall and sought to redirect funds toward border security through technology.
Building the wall was one of former President Donald Trump’s major immigration policies, and Biden had criticized this strategy as ineffective. However, the current president claims that he cannot prevent the use of funds allocated by Congress during Trump’s term for this construction.
This movement has raised questions about the reasons behind this decision and has sparked intense debates about US immigration policy. Amid the growing migration crisis, the expansion of the wall raises questions about the future direction of US border policies and their impact both domestically and internationally.