Joe Biden’s DHS Nominee: I Will Stop Construction of Border Wall
Evan James
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Joe Biden’s pick to be secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Alejandro Mayorkas, has said that he would attempt to stop construction of the US-Mexico border wall if the Senate confirms him to his post.
“President-elect Biden has committed to stop construction of the border wall. It would be my responsibility to execute on that commitment, and I have not looked at the question of what we do with respect to the wall that already has been built,” Mayorkas said before the Senate Homeland Security Committee at his confirmation hearing Tuesday.
Senator Josh Hawley, who announced his intention to object to a quick confirmation of Mayorkas, pointed out that Congress approved $1.4 billion in additional wall funds in December, meaning that Mayorkas simply cannot refuse to keep building the wall.
Mayorkas said in response: “What I would need to do is to understand what the law provides with respect to the obligation of funds to construct the border wall and see what the opportunities are to discontinue any such obligations if in fact the law permits.”
Hawley stated that his objection to Mayorkas’ quick confirmation lies in his failure to adequately explain “how he will enforce federal law and secure the southern border given President-elect Biden’s promise to roll back major enforcement and security measures.”
Big League Politics has written about Mayorkas before. When Biden first nominated him, we recalled his oversight of the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) at a time of record-breaking immigration levels and his eagerness to rubber-stamp green card and visa worker applications. We also reported on Senator Tom Cotton’s statement back in November that he would vote against Mayorkas’ confirmation.
As it stands, however, Mayorkas will be confirmed even if every Republican voted “no” and every Democrat voted “yes,” for Vice President-elect Kamala Harris holds the tiebreaking vote.
Brace yourselves for the Biden administration’s all-out assault against President Trump’s immigration policies.
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