October 06, 2023

Statement from Congressman Castro on Border Wall Construction Announcement

SAN ANTONIO — Today, Congressman Joaquin Castro (TX-20), the highest-ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, issued the following statement in response to the Biden administration’s recent decision to waive 26 federal laws to permit more border wall construction in the Rio Grande Valley:

“Yesterday, news broke that the Biden administration is waiving 26 federal laws — including the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, and the Farmland Protection Policy Act to allow for new border wall construction in the Rio Grande Valley.

"We’ve been here before. Under the Trump administration, the government seized hundreds of acres of private property from Texas landowners and diverted $10 billion from the military to fund a border wall that wasn’t effective in deterring migration.

“Border walls are costly political stunts that raise the risk of catastrophic flooding in border towns while doing nothing to address security at ports of entry — where most fentanyl enters the U.S. Last year, 88% of people convicted of fentanyl trafficking were U.S. citizens.

“In 2019, I led the bipartisan fight to end the emergency declaration Trump used to build his wall. The U.S. is spending more on the border now than at any point in our history. We need to do more to address the root causes of migration, but a wall isn't the answer.

"Waiving the Safe Drinking Water Act and other federal laws to build the border wall is a dangerous mistake that will hurt Texas families. President Biden should keep his promise and prioritize common-sense immigration reform instead of rushing down this dark road.”