Border  Wall  Repair  Work  Gets  Green  Light

Work repairing a flood barrier system in the Rio Grande Valley, and remediating soil erosion, are two of the new projects planned by the Department of Homeland Security addressing issues created by the recent border wall construction.

In a public statement, DHS said its goal was to correct “physical dangers resulting from the previous administration’s approach to border wall construction” along the U.S./ Mexico border.

According to the DHS, the flood barrier system, designed to protect low-lying regions of Hidalgo County, Texas from catastrophic flooding, was partially disrupted during the building of the wall.

The agency also says that “improper compaction of soil and construction materials along a wall segment constructed by the prior administration is causing dangerous erosion along a 14-mile stretch in San Diego, California.”

President Biden earlier this year issued a proclamation pausing further border wall construction and terminating the redirection of funds for that project.

The work stoppage, according to Newsweek, may have made matters worse with contractors wrapping up their work before having a chance to repair the flood barrier system.

Earlier this month, the Biden Administration announced it was canceling all border wall projects that had been previously funded through the Defense Department. Those funds will now be used for military construction projects earlier approved by Congress.

The Government Accountability Office, meanwhile, is reviewing Biden’s border wall funding decree, which some critics have said may have been in violation of the Impoundment Control Act.

The GAO is expected to release a report on the matter by early summer.

By Garry Boulard

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