DHS Secretary Mayorkas Says Administration Has Not Changed Border Wall Policy: ‘Remains Our Position’

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said on Thursday that the Biden Administration is bound by law to continue construction of the U.S.-Mexico border wall and will continue to do so, despite growing Democratic criticism over the matter.

"From day one, this Administration has made clear that a border wall is not the answer," Mayorkas said in a statement on Thursday, saying that the administration has not changed its position on denouncing the wall. "That remains our position and our position has never wavered."

Mayorkas's statement comes after the Department of Homeland Security posted a notice that the Biden administration has waived over two dozen laws in order to expedite border wall construction in Texas's Rio Grande Valley. The barriers are being built under "acute and immediate need" in order to prevent illegal crossings, according to Mayorkas.

The move has controversy among activists with concerns for environmental protections and even the president of Mexico, who claimed the actions mimicked those of former President Donald Trump, who began the border wall construction during his time as president.

When he was running for the White House, President Biden denounced the border wall, claiming he would halt its construction and in 2021, on his first day in the Oval Office, he issued an executive order to do just that.

Mayorkas says the recent move does not indicate any changes in the Biden Administration's border policies and it was "taken out of context."

Mayorkas says that the administration was legally obligated by Congress to use the money that was allocated for the wall construction in 2019, to continue to be used on its expansion. Mayorkas says they have asked Congress to "rescind" the money, but they have not, so they have to follow the law.

Biden was asked about the matter in the Oval Office on Thursday where he echoed Mayorkas.

"The money was appropriated for the border wall. I tried to get them to reappropriate it, to redirect that money," Biden said. "They didn't, they wouldn't. And in the meantime, there's nothing under the law other than they have to use the money for what it was appropriated. I can't stop that."