The Biden administration on Wednesday announced it will begin construction on a section of border wall, saying there is an "acute and immediate need" for the move as illegal immigration has surged.
"There is presently an acute and immediate need to construct physical barriers and roads in the vicinity of the border of the United States in order to prevent unlawful entries into the United States in the project areas," Alejandro Mayorkas, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, said in a notice.
The White House is waiving 26 federal laws in Texas to begin construction, which will take place in Starr County, Texas.
"The Secretary of Homeland Security has determined, pursuant to law, that it is necessary to waive certain laws, regulations, and other legal requirements in order to ensure the expeditious construction of barriers and roads in the vicinity of the international land border in Starr County, Texas," a summary in the DHS notice reads, adding that border wall will be constructed at "high illegal entry" points.
Biden said in 2020 that "there will not be another foot of wall constructed in my administration."
Former president Donald Trump said President Joe Biden's construction of the barriers does nothing to address the illegal immigrants and "terrorists" already in the country.
"Biden sees our country is being invaded," Trump told Fox News. "What is he going to do about the 15 million people from prisons, from mental institutions, insane asylums, and terrorists that have already come into our country?"
Also Wednesday, CBS News reported based on preliminary Department of Homeland Security data that some 50,000 Venezuelan migrants illegally crossed the U.S. southern border last month, "a record and once-unthinkable number." Fiscal year 2023, which ended last month with an annual high in illegal border crossings, saw Border Patrol apprehend more than 2 million migrants for just the second time in U.S. history. That included 151 suspected terrorists, up from zero in 2019.