Donald Trump is demanding an apology from President Joe Biden following the current administration's decision to waive dozens of federal laws in Texas to facilitate border wall construction.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump accused Biden of violating "every environmental law" in the book while sharing an Associated Press article that details how the Department of Homeland Security used executive powers to waive 26 environmental, public health, and cultural preservation laws. This was done to enable additional border wall construction in South Texas, an area where illegal migrant crossings have surged this year.
Trump wrote, "So interesting to watch Crooked Joe Biden break every environmental law in the book to prove that I was right when I built 560 miles (they incorrectly state 450 in the story!) of a brand new, beautiful border wall. As I have stated often, over thousands of years, there are only two things that have consistently worked, wheels, and walls!"
He continued, "Will Joe Biden apologize to me and America for taking so long to get moving and allowing our country to be flooded with 15 million illegal immigrants from places unknown? I will await his apology."
Trump made building a wall along the entire U.S.-Mexico border a key campaign promise in 2016.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) declared an "acute and immediate need" to construct physical barriers in Starr County, Texas, to prevent unlawful entries into the U.S., as announced on October 5 on the U.S. Federal Registry.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas stated in the document that one area in Rio Grande Valley has been described by Border Patrol as having a "high illegal entry" rate, with more than 245,000 attempted illegal crossings so far this year.
To facilitate the construction of the border walls, several laws, including those under the National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, are being waived.
Laiken Jordahl, a conservation advocate for the Center for Biological Diversity, criticized the Biden administration's move, saying that building a wall would destroy wildlife habitat and disrupt wildlife migrations.
Biden has faced criticism for the record-breaking level of illegal crossings at the southern border during his presidency. Republicans have threatened to launch impeachment hearings against Mayorkas over his handling of the border crisis.
On his first day in office in January 2021, Biden halted the production of any border walls still in place from the Trump era. The White House described Trump's wall as "not a serious policy solution or responsible use of Federal funds" in a June 11, 2021 statement. Photo by Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, Wikimedia commons.