Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey announced a stunning court victory on Tuesday, securing an order to compel the Biden administration to allocate congressionally approved funds to complete the border wall initiated by former President Donald Trump. “The Biden Administration has failed to abide by the law to finish the construction of a wall along the southwest border,” Bailey declared in a press release. “Joe Biden refuses to carry out his constitutionally mandated responsibilities, so we took him to court to force him to do his job. This is a huge step forward in the fight to secure our border at a key moment in our nation’s history.”
In 2020, Congress passed legislation explicitly requiring the President to erect barriers along the southern border to prevent illegal immigration. The bill allocated $1.4 billion exclusively for constructing the border wall, mandating that these funds “only be available for construction of the barrier systems along the southwest border.” Despite this clear directive, the Biden administration has consistently refused to comply with the law.
When questioned about its non-compliance, the administration responded, “[i]t is not the policy of this administration” to build a wall, stating, “[w]e do not agree with the building of a wall.” The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) expressed its intention to “end wall expansion,” even calling on Congress to cancel the remaining border wall funding. The administration’s stance has been to ignore the appropriations law, choosing not to use the allocated funds for their intended purpose of completing Trump’s border wall.
Missouri, alongside Texas, immediately filed a lawsuit against the administration. The administration argued that Bailey lacked the legal standing to challenge its refusal to use the funds. However, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that states do have the right to challenge the federal government in such cases, marking a significant legal triumph for Bailey and his allies.
“The Administration even ‘call[ed] on Congress to cancel remaining border wall funding’ because they knew that without congressional action, they would need to use the appropriated funds for their specified purpose: finish the construction of President Trump’s border wall,” the press release stated. “Yet when Congress did not capitulate to its demands, the Biden Administration ignored its constitutional obligations to abide by Congress’ appropriations laws and opted not to use the funding for the purpose Congress directed.”
This ruling forces the Biden administration to follow through with the border wall construction, delivering a major blow to its immigration policy and a significant victory for those advocating for stricter border security.
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