OAN’s Abril Elfi
1:00 PM – Friday, October 6, 2023
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) slams President Joe Biden for prompting a “cruel policy” by adding 20 miles to the border wall.
On Thursday, Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) released a statement criticizing the Biden administration for waiving 26 federal laws in order to expedite the construction of additional portions of the border wall in Texas in order to keep migrants out of the United States.
The New York Democrat demanded that the 46th president “reverse course” on constructing a wall at the U.S. border with Mexico, saying a “wall does nothing” and represents a “cruel policy.”
“The Biden administration was not required to expand construction of the border wall — and they certainly were not required to waive several environmental laws to expedite the building,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote. “The President needs to take responsibility for this decision and reverse course. A wall does nothing to deter people who are fleeing poverty and violence from coming to the United States. Walls only serve to push migrants into more remote areas, increasing their chances of death. It is a cruel policy.”
She continued by stating that the Biden Administration should instead “more seriously” examine the “root of migration,” and “should stop contributing to the destabilization that drives migration.”
According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the new sections of the barrier will measure up to 20 miles along the southern border in Starr County, Texas.
Earlier on Thursday, Biden had announced that the decision of expanding the wall was out of his hands stating that he “can’t stop that.”
“Money was appropriated for the border wall,” Biden said. “I tried to get them to reappropriate, to redirect that money, but 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.”
When a reporter asked Biden if he believes a border wall is effective in reducing illegal immigration, the president said, “no.”
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