According to the former chief operating officer and acting director of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, President Joe Biden‘s order to halt construction of the border wall would mean the loss of about 5,000 construction jobs, in addition to a hasty end to construction that could cost billions of dollars for nothing.
“Conservatively, about 5,000 construction workers will lose their jobs immediately,” Mark Morgan told BreitbartNews, “and it will cost them their livelihoods. “
On Jan. 20, within hours of his inauguration, Biden signed an executive order ending the Southern Border Emergency Declaration and halting border wall construction. Previously, former President Trump (R-Texas) had extended the border emergency declaration until February 2022.
In the order, Biden wrote: “It is the policy of my administration to no longer divert American taxpayer dollars from the construction of a border wall, and I direct that all resources used or diverted for the construction of a southern border wall will be carefully reviewed.”
Congress appropriated $1.4 billion for border wall construction in the National Defense Authorization Act of 2021.
Mark Morgan told Breitbart News that workers in the steel, concrete and skilled trades who provide the building materials for the border wall will also be affected.
“Now, remember, we have to pay them for what they currently produce,” he said of steel industry union members, “but the 350 miles of border wall that Congress appropriated to build … the money they counted on to feed their families and pay their mortgages, all of that will be gone. “
Mark Morgan said about 270,000 tons of steel-posted fencing has been produced, but not yet assembled.
“It’s unconscionable when you think about it that we’re not only paying contractors, we’re paying additional money to destroy it or store it,” he said of the cost, adding that there are other partially completed areas that will cost money to remove, such as paying contractors to remove steel that was previously laid.
“Conservatively, this is costing taxpayers billions of dollars.” He said.
Biden’s nominee for homeland security secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, said he has not studied what to do with the current border wall, including the possibility of removing parts of it.
I look forward to studying this and understanding the costs and benefits of doing so,” he told the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC) during his Jan. 19 confirmation hearing. “
During the Trump presidency, the U.S. government has built more than 450 miles of border wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, with much of the construction replacing old or ineffective barriers. The National Border Patrol Council, which supported Trump’s election, previously said the border wall is critical to slowing illegal border crossings and keeping agents safe.
The White House announced Jan. 23 that Biden’s plan includes “increased resettlement capacity and legal alternatives to immigration” as well as improved processing of asylum-seeking immigrants at the border.
Biden also brought other immigration changes to the White House, including suspending the Remain in Mexico program for asylum seekers, revoking the travel ban for countries vulnerable to terrorist attacks, continuing the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA), and continuing the program for asylum seekers. “(DACA), and a 100-day moratorium on deportations of illegal immigrants.
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