The border wall—a key issue in former President Donald Trump’s presidential campaign—has been in legal limbo since the Biden administration pulled back from the project. That may be changing. Federal Judge Drew Tipton has ordered the current administration to stop diverting funds earmarked for the wall. Instead, the preliminary injunction dictates that President Biden must continue with construction on the barrier along the US-Mexico border.
Several billion dollars of funding for the project was approved by Congress in 2019, but construction was halted in 2021 by an Executive Order on Biden’s first day. This action provoked a lawsuit from the States Attorneys General of Missouri and Texas for failure to use the funds on the project for which they were allocated.
Ken Paxton, the Attorney General for the State of Texas, accused Biden of displaying a desperation to keep the border open, of “improperly refusing” to spend money allocated by Congress in the correct fashion, and of attempting to pilfer the funds for other, non-approved ends, violating the separation of powers.
Immigration Reform Law Institute affiliate Dale Wilcox, meanwhile, characterized the administration as having gone to war with the country’s immigration laws.
Ironically, the Biden administration’s reluctance to finish the project runs counter to a 2017 memo from the Department of Homeland Security which found such barriers to be an effective measure against illegal migration.
You can read learn more about the Texas v. Biden case and the opinion by reading the March 8 Memorandum and Opinion Order filed in the US District Court, Southern District of Texas.
