A federal court determined that the Biden administration could not divert more than a billion dollars in funding intended for the construction of a border wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. The loss in court also comes amid historically high flows of migrants into the country and an ongoing legal dispute with Texas over border enforcement.
President Joe Biden signed an order in January 2021 ending the national emergency declared by former President Donald Trump regarding the southern border. This included a pause in the construction of the wall at the border. As a result, the funds set aside by Congress were not utilized.
“It shall be the policy of my administration that no more American taxpayer dollars be diverted to construct a border wall. I am also directing a careful review of all resources appropriated or redirected to construct a southern border wall,” Biden said at the time.
Later that year the Department of Homeland Security canceled most of the border wall program, which was followed by a lawsuit filed by Missouri and Texas.
U.S. District Judge Drew Tipton found in favor of the states’ lawsuit, stating that the funds could not be diverted from the purpose issued by Congress.
“Texas has shown injury-in-fact through costs that it has incurred in administering driver’s licenses, education and healthcare to a rising number of illegal aliens,” wrote the judge.
“Traceability is met because Texas has sufficiently demonstrated that the failure to build more physical barriers will reduce the number of apprehensions that otherwise would have occurred. And finally, this controversy is redressable because it is likely that a favorable judicial decision would reduce the financial harms that Texas otherwise would incur,” said Tipton in his ruling.
Texas celebrated the court decision, with Gov. Greg Abbott (R), saying that federal law “REQUIRES the Biden Admin. to build border walls & barriers”
“Biden violated that law by wrongly diverting funds appropriated by Congress that were intended for border walls,” wrote Abbott.
“Time to build that wall,” said the governor.
Federal law REQUIRES the Biden Admin. to build border walls & barriers.
Biden violated that law by wrongly diverting funds appropriated by Congress that were intended for border walls.
Time to build that wall.https://t.co/G4DGVu77bp via @thecentersquare
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) March 9, 2024
