A federal court on Friday temporarily blocked the Biden administration from diverting $1.4 billion in funding appropriated by Congress away from border wall construction, one of a number of legal battles between Texas and the federal government. The ruling stems from a January 2021 proclamation by President Joe Biden that terminated the Trump-era national emergency at the southern border, and ordered a pause on the construction of the border wall.
In June of the same year, the Department of Homeland Security issued a plan canceling most border wall projects and would in 2022 amend the same plan to include remediation and the addition of barrier system upgrades such as lighting, cameras and detection.
argued that Texas had not established that the failure to build more wall would result in more illegal immigration, claiming that migration increases can be caused by social, economic and political factors.' U.S. District Judge Drew Tipton, a Trump appointee who had found in favor of the Biden administration in a separate case, ruled in favor of Texas and Missouri and put a temporary injunction on the redirecting of funds.
The administration has consistently said it disapproves of border wall construction, although it has engaged in a number of wall-related projects. In October, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas waived regulations in order to go ahead with projects appropriated in FY 19 funding. We have repeatedly asked Congress to rescind this money, but it has not done so and we are compelled to follow the law,' Mayorkas said. 'This Administration believes that effective border security requires a smarter and more comprehensive approach, including state-of the-art border surveillance technology and modernized ports of entry. We need Congress to give us the funds to implement these proven tools.