White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked about the move by Fox News Channel's Peter Doocy during the daily press briefing. Jean-Pierre argued that President Biden was "not finishing the wall," yet rather filling gaps to prevent migrants from attempting dangerous border crossings.
"We are cleaning up the mess the prior administration made," declared Jean-Pierre. "We are trying to save lives… A border wall is an ineffective use of taxpayer dollars."
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The Department of Homeland Security declared earlier this week that it was prioritizing the completion of the wall near the Morelos Dam in Arizona. The choice was made, according to administration officials, to protect illegal migrants from getting hurt while attempting to traverse a dangerous section of the Colorado River.
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DHS officials not that the area in question is the third-busiest illegal-crossing site across along the U.S-Mexico border. In the first six months of this year alone, border patrol agents have stopped migrants over 160,000 times along the section.
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"This area presents safety and life hazard risks for migrants attempting to cross into the United States where there is a risk of drownings and injuries from falls," DHS declared in a statement. "This area also poses a life and safety risk to first responders and agents responding to incidents in this area."
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News of the choice to fill gaps in the border was met with choice by Republican lawmakers.
"After Hispanic support for President Biden craters to 26% approval, he suddenly wants to complete the border wall," Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., tweeted.
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Critics worried that Biden had campaigned strongly on stopping the wall's construction while competing for the White House in 2020.
At one point, Biden even pledged that if he won, "not another foot" of the project would be built.
Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., told "Hannity" on Friday that Biden is engaging in midterm election "tokenism" by adding a couple hundred feet and likely claiming he is doing something regarding the disaster at the border.
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"Morelos Dam gets a lot of traffic, but this is an election year kind of symbol for them. That's all this is," he announced, referring to a structure not far from where Arizona, California and Mexico meet, near Los Algondones, Baja.
However, Biggs foresaw that if the wall is constructed near the dam, many of the estimated 1,000 illegal immigrants per day flooding into Yuma will simply cross into the Cocopah Indian Reservation.
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