Joe Biden is urgently preparing for the construction of a border wall along Texas due to an ongoing migrant crisis that has strained local and federal resources.
The US president has abandoned federal laws in order to build a new wall in Starr County as migrant numbers surge.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said the area where construction is planned has seen “high illegal entry".
In a notice on the US Federal Registry, Alejandro Mayorkas, the DHS secretary, said there is an "immediate need to construct" barriers.
He said: “There is presently an acute and immediate need to construct physical barriers and roads in the vicinity of the border of the United States in order to prevent unlawful entries into the United States in the project areas."
President Trump launched the campaign for the wall in 2017 and constructed about 450 miles of border barriers.
The DHS's decision to generate more walls goes against Biden's previous promise to end the construction.
On January 20, 2021 Biden said: “Building a massive wall that spans the entire southern border is not a serious policy solution."
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US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) claim that the new proposals does not violate Biden's proclamation.
In a statement, they said: “Congress appropriated fiscal year 2019 funds for the construction of border barrier in the Rio Grande Valley, and DHS is required to use those funds for their appropriated purpose.
“CBP remains committed to protecting the nation’s cultural and natural resources and will implement sound environmental practices as part of the project covered by this waiver.”
However, some have raised concerns over the waiving of the Clean Air Act, Safe Drinking Water Act and Endangered Species Act.
In a notice on the US Federal Registry, Alejandro Mayorkas, the DHS secretary, said there is an 'immediate need to construct' barriers
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Laiken Jordahl, a southwest conservation advocate for the Center for Biological Diversity said: “A plan to build a wall through will bulldoze an impermeable barrier straight through the heart of that habitat.
“It will stop wildlife migrations dead in their tracks. It will destroy a huge amount of wildlife refuge land. And it’s a horrific step backward for the borderlands.”
Some Democrats also criticised the plans.
