Joe Biden has approved the expansion of the border wall with Mexico. The president is expanding a project that he promised to stop during the 2000 election campaign. Then, under Donald Trump, there was talk of a "racist wall". Now, this barrier to contain illegal immigration is seen as a security element.
The government has authorized completion of the wall in an open area in Yuma, Arizona, near Morelos Dam, which has become one of the busiest places for illegal aliens to cross. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) says in a statement that this reinforcement will give greater protection to immigrants from the "risk of drowning or injury from falls" when walking across a shallow section of the Colorado River.
Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary of Homeland Security, has authorized the expansion of the wall "reflecting [the Administration's] priorities of deploying modern and effective border measures, as well as enhancing security along the southwest border," the statement said. What was once an unnecessary and 'racist' expense has now become a security priority. Not to be left out is the green touch: "Prior to construction, DHS will conduct environmental planning," the statement adds.
Border control
The Yuma area is one of the most targeted by Border Patrol agents. They say they are watched by smugglers on the Mexican side who manage the arrival of illegals into the country as they please. The AP points out that this sector is the third busiest of the nine along the border. Border agents made more than 160,000 immigrant apprehensions between January and June in the Yuma sector, a figure almost four times higher compared to the same period last year. The only two sectors with more activity were Del Rio and Rio Grande Valley in South Texas.
The U.S.-Mexico border is the deadliest land crossing in the world. In 2021, more than 720 deaths were recorded at the crossing between the two countries. So far this year, more than 600 immigrants have lost their lives at the border. With this data, there are many southern leaders who criticize Biden's inaction and speak openly of an "invasion" of illegals in the country.
Biden's decision to secure the border wall comes after Senator Mark Kelly, Democrat of Arizona, called on the president to secure the border, joining Republican voices that have been making this call for months. Biden is timidly reacting by expanding a wall that just two years ago he called unusable.
