TRUMP-TOUTED: Biden to 'build that wall' along Mexico border in policy U-turn

In a surprising policy reversal, President Joe Biden's administration announced on Thursday its intention to construct additional sections of a border wall in an effort to curb the surge in migrant crossings from Mexico.

This decision marks a significant departure from one of Biden's initial actions upon taking office in January 2021, where he vowed not to divert American taxpayer dollars toward border wall construction, pledging instead to review previously allocated resources.

This move has been seen as an acknowledgement of the challenges posed by the record number of migrant crossings during Biden's presidency. Former President Donald Trump, who is currently the leading contender for the Republican Party nomination in the 2024 presidential race, had made building border barriers a focal point of his first campaign, with his supporters famously chanting, "Build That Wall."

The necessity to construct these barriers stems from the fact that funding allocated during the Trump administration for border wall construction would have expired at the end of 2023, necessitating its utilisation to avoid violating legal requirements.

Despite these actions, the Biden administration continues to call on Congress to reconsider and reallocate funding for more effective border security measures, such as border technology, as an alternative to physical barriers. 

While Biden initially promised to reverse several of Trump's immigration policies, the administration retained the COVID-era public health order known as Title 42, which permitted the expulsion of migrants to Mexico without affording them the opportunity to seek asylum. 

When Title 42 expired earlier this year, it was replaced with a more stringent rule requiring migrants to schedule appointments via a government-run smartphone app before approaching a legal port of entry or facing tougher asylum criteria if crossing the border illegally.

The surge in migrant numbers remains a pressing issue, particularly with thousands of migrants from Venezuela seeking refuge, complicated by strained relations between the U.S. and the Venezuelan government. 

In the current fiscal year, Border Patrol agents have encountered over 245,000 individuals entering the United States in the Rio Grande Valley Sector alone, according to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

This influx of migrants has placed considerable strain on U.S. cities along the border, with Eagle Pass, Texas, declaring a state of emergency due to a substantial increase in undocumented immigrant arrivals. Meanwhile, New York City Mayor Eric Adams embarked on a trip to Mexico, Colombia, and Ecuador to communicate to potential migrants that his city lacks the capacity to accommodate them.