President Biden to reverse “not another foot” Southern wall policy, will seek to fill in border wall gaps

On Thursday, the Biden Administration reversed their stance on their “not another foot” policy, where they said they would not add to the border wall, and are going to fill in the gaps in an open area of Southern Arizona.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on Thursday that their decision to fill in 4 large gaps will protect migrants and prevent them from falling down a slope or possibly drowning.

Biden’s press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre also said that the gaps were being filled because the Biden is “trying to save lives.” She repeatedly stressed “We are not finishing the wall.” She also blamed the Trump administration for the condition of the wall, saying “this is what the prior administration left behind that we are now cleaning up.”

The DHS said in a statement that Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas had given the green light for the project, which is close to the Morelos Dam, to be completed.

Mayorkas said the improvements to the wall showcase the current administrations “priority to deploy modern, effective border measures and also improving safety and security along the Southwest Border.” The wall will be funded by the Homeland Security’s 2021 budget.

Mark Kelly (D-AZ) had been a supporter of filling the gaps in the wall. Kelly said the gaps represented a massive challenge for those trying to control the border as agents prevented migrants crossing the border more than 160,000 times from January to June in the Yuma section, where the wall is going to be completed.

Myles Traphagen, who is an environmentalist from Arizona, does not believe that simply filling in gaps will act as a deterrent. Traphagen said the Yuma area has “become the new Ellis Island for Arizona.” He said that migrants have arrived at Yuma from a myriad of countries, including Ethiopia, Cuba, Russia, Ukraine, India, Colombia and Nicaragua.

“People have traveled halfway around the globe on planes, trains and automobiles, so to expect that closing four small gaps is going to make them turn around and book a return flight on Air Ethiopia is sheer fallacy,” Traphagen said.