“A wall does nothing to deter people who are fleeing poverty and violence from coming to the United States,” Ocasio-Cortez said in a statement she shared on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Walls only serve to push migrants into more remote areas, increasing their chances of death. It is a cruel policy.”
The progressive lawmaker also took issue with President Joe Biden’s claim that the funds for resuming construction were already appropriated for the wall in the Trump administration and that he was forced to use them by this year. Biden said he tried to redirect the money but was denied by Congress.
Despite telling reporters that a wall was not the answer to the border crisis, Biden and his administration are waiving dozens of federal laws to add about 20 miles of wall in Starr County, Texas, part of the Rio Grande Valley Sector that has recorded 245,000 illegal crossings this year, The Associated Press noted.
“The Biden administration was not required to expand construction of the border wall — and they certainly were not required to waive several environmental laws to expedite the building,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “The President needs to take responsibility for this decision and reverse the course.”
She called for the United States to more seriously examine the root of migration and “stop contributing to the destabilization that drives migration.”
The resumption of wall construction, which Biden often criticized in his 2020 campaign, has been used for fodder by Republicans to attack the administration’s border policy.
“This is a crisis. It’s out of control, but I don’t believe for a minute that Joe Biden wants to fix it,” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said. “I think this is all window dressing to pretend he cares.”
