For a long time, Democrats vehemently criticized Donald Trump for Mexico border wall construction.
However, now the Biden administration is filling the gaps in the same border wall in Arizona, claiming illegal immigrants are at risk of life-threatening injuries while crossing the border.
DHS to Fill Gaps in Trump Border Wall
According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), illegal immigrants are at “risk of drowning and (receiving) injuries from falls” in the Yuma border sector in Arizona. This is urging the administration to close the existing gaps in the Trump-made wall.
Furthermore, border agents and first aid respondents are also prone to danger in this area, the DHS noted.
Even in the presence of a dam near the Colorado River, which makes border crossings difficult, the Yuma border sector reported nearly 235,239 migrant encounters since October last year.
This is the third-highest border crossing encounter in any sector, just behind Del Rio and Rio Grande Valley sectors.
Biden administration authorizes completion of the Trump-funded U.S.-Mexico border wall in an open area of southern Arizona near Yuma, where four wide gaps make it among the busiest corridors for illegal crossings. https://t.co/XUkmYOggev
— NBC News (@NBCNews) July 29, 2022
When former President Trump started border wall construction, liberal activists and Democratic lawmakers badly criticized him.
This political tussle even led to the government shutdown in 2018, when Congress refused to give $5.7 billion to Trump for the border wall construction.
After assuming the White House, President Biden halted construction; nearly all Democrats praised his measure, which led to the widespread border crisis.
However, some notable Democrats previously noted holes and gaps in the Arizona border sector are prone to danger, which is exploited not only by illegal migrants, but also by human traffickers.
White House Defended Biden’s Hypocrisy on the Border Wall
As criticism mounted on the Biden administration’s decision to fill the wall gaps, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre repeatedly claimed the government was not “finishing” the border wall.
Jean-Pierre suggested the Biden administration is only trying to clean up the mess of the former government, which it created in the “failed attempt to build a wall.”
Fox News correspondent to the White House, Peter Doocy, pressed the secretary, noting that President Biden claimed he would not fund “another foot of the wall” construction after winning the presidency.
Responding to this, Jean-Pierre suggested the administration is “not finishing the wall.”
Lol Karine Jean-Pierre tying herself in knots trying to answer why the Biden administration is filling in gaps in the border wall in Arizona, but also that the border wall is racist and ineffective.
— John Cooper (@thejcoop) July 29, 2022
Doocy reminded the press secretary of her own words, according to which the Trump border wall was a “racist wall.”
Responding to this, Jean-Pierre suggested the Mexico border wall is an expensive and ineffective way of protecting the border, citing CBP News data, which mentioned the wall was breached more than 3,000 times between 2019 and 2021.
Meanwhile, Democratic Senator from Arizona Mark Kelly appreciated the DHS, claiming it will help border agents in maintaining the safety of Americans.
A Republican mayor of Yuma, Doug Nicholls, also praised the move, stating it would be an “important first step” to bringing the rising border crisis under control.
