WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Clay Higgins (R-LA), Ranking Member of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Border Security, is introducing the Finish the Wall Act, which requires the Biden administration to resume construction of the border wall system. The bill has over 60 cosponsors and is one of House Republicans’ five pillars to address the Biden border crisis.
Under President Trump’s administration, 458 miles of border wall system were completed with hundreds of additional miles fully funded but not yet constructed. However, an executive order signed by President Biden on January 20, 2021, immediately halted all construction on the border wall system.
The Finish the Wall Act would:
- Resume border wall system construction activities within 24 hours of enactment;
- Prevent the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary from canceling construction contracts related to the border wall system;
- Require the DHS Secretary to spend all funds appropriated or obligated to the border wall system since Fiscal Year 2017;
- Direct the DHS Secretary to submit an implementation plan to Congress, including benchmarks for the deployment of physical barriers, technology, roads, and lighting;
- Ensure U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) facilities are fully compliant with the DNA Fingerprint Act of 2005.
Text of the bill is available here.
Other pillars of House Republicans’ plan include reinstating the Remain in Mexico policy, maintaining Title 42 authority, requiring a negative COVID test before releasing migrants, and sending a clear message not to come to the United States illegally.
Congressman Higgins issued the following statement:
“Through executive decree, President Biden halted work on the border wall system, created large security gaps, ended thousands of construction jobs, violated signed contracts, and left behind huge stockpiles of high-quality steel stacked on private land and unused. Biden’s executive action to stop wall system construction, his reversal of deterrent-focused Trump policies, and his endless public statements in 2020 about open borders and easy illegal entry and transforming America into a sanctuary nation are directly responsible for the border crisis, which has indeed become a serious threat to our Republic. The Biden administration cannot continue its policy of weakness. America demands effective border security. Completing the new wall system is critical to that mission, and House Republicans are offering real solutions.”
