The Biden administration’s plan to build new barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border in South Texas is moving forward despite calls from border residents and environmentalists to abandon the Trump era project.
The plans for the nearly 20 miles of new barrier in Starr County were made public in September when the federal government sought public input. The following month, the administration waived 26 federal laws protecting the environment and certain species to speed up the construction process.
Biden has said he believes that walls aren’t a solution for the broken immigration system and he pledged during his 2020 campaign not to build one more mile of border wall. Yet he said he doesn’t have the power to stop this construction since it was already approved by Congress.
This construction comes as the nation’s southern border is at the center of the national debate on immigration with a record rise in asylum seekers and Illegal border crossings.
Also, the Texas Legislature in a fourth special session is again being ordered to pass border security bills by Governor Greg Abbott. Abbott is seeking an additional $1.5 billion for new state border wall construction.
Guest:
Tricia Cortez, Executive Director of the Rio Grande International Studies Center, helped rally a commission in the city of Laredo in 2019 that ultimately stopped four separate billion-dollar federal government contracts for the border wall. As part of the Center for Cultural Power’s Border Narratives Project, Tricia can speak more to lessons learned from defeating the border wall once before, how the continued border wall construction is incredibly destructive ecologically, culturally, and historically, and the role culture plays in turning back destructive policy.
"The Source" is a live call-in program airing Mondays through Thursdays from 12-1 p.m. Leave a message before the program at (210) 615-8982. During the live show, call 833-877-8255 or email thesource@tpr.org.
This interview will be recorded Wednesday, November 15, 2023.
