Tuberville raises ‘serious concerns’ on Biden halting border wall construction – AL.com

Tuberville raises ‘serious concerns’ on Biden halting border wall construction – AL.com

Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., said Wednesday he has “serious concerns” about President Biden halting construction of former President Trump’s wall along the southern border, claiming reversing the Trump administration policy “will give way to an increase in drug flow and human trafficking.”

In his first day in office, Biden terminated the national emergency declaration issued by Trump that was used to divert $10 billion from the Defense Department to construct the wall. About 455 miles of border wall was constructed under Trump.

“I have serious concerns about President Biden’s executive order to stop construction of a wall along the southwest border,” Tuberville said in a statement. “Over the last four years, we have witnessed the effectiveness of more than 400 miles of new physical barriers in curbing illegal border crossings, assisting our border patrol agents in enforcing the law, and impacting daily apprehension rates. For the administration to hit pause on those efforts sends the exact wrong message to our adversaries and those seeking to enter this country illegally.”

The White House said Biden was issuing an “immediate pause” on construction of the wall “to allow a close review of the legality of the funding and contracting methods used, and to determine the best way to redirect funds that were diverted by the prior administration to fund wall construction.”

Tuberville disapproved of the move.

“If we stop effectively protecting our border, we will see American jobs impacted at a time when we need to be getting Americans back in the workforce. Not to mention an under-protected border will give way to an increase in drug flow and human trafficking – two issues on the rise in our country,” he said. “If President Biden truly cares about getting American workers back on their feet after the pandemic and protecting our country, he will reconsider this decision and recommit to enforcing the laws as passed by Congress.”

Published at Thu, 21 Jan 2021 03:12:00 +0000