Republican senators are outraged over the auctioning off of border wall materials designed to protect the U.S.-Mexico border, with demands for President Biden to prioritize border security instead.
Recently, structural tubes and 30-foot panel hollow beams, each weighing up to 4,793 pounds, were sold on GovPlanet, an online auction site.
Listings showed the materials marked as “sold” with prices ranging from $25,000 to $50,000. Additional listings are scheduled for September 6, starting at $1,000 each.
Senator Roger Wicker, R-Mississippi, slammed the Biden administration’s decision, stating, “It’s outrageous that the Biden administration continues to press on with these fire sales of border wall panels. They should be put to use securing our border and protecting our homeland, not going to the scrap heap.”
Republican committee members have sent a letter to the secretary of defense requesting the immediate suspension of the sale of around $260 million worth of unused border wall materials.
The Biden administration is rushing to auction off the parts for the border wall.
Why? Because Congress is right now passing a bill that would require the federal government to finish the wall, or hand over the materials to states that want to build it.https://t.co/tg0oK65Nzy pic.twitter.com/JZe2xOGacp
— EpochTV (@EpochTV) August 31, 2023
Senator Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, expressed concern about leaving the nation vulnerable and wasting taxpayer dollars. She asserted that the materials should be used as intended to secure the border, emphasizing that “President Biden should finish the wall, not sell it.”
Republicans are pushing to reinstate Trump-era border security policies and complete the border wall through the Finish It Act. This legislation proposes using the construction materials as originally intended or transferring them to border states for that purpose. The Finish It Act, introduced by Senator Ted Cruz, R-Texas, has gained bipartisan support.
While the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is overseeing the disposal of excess border wall materials, it’s unclear who is purchasing these materials or where they are being stored. The USACE stated they are disposing of the materials in accordance with federal regulations and have already transferred a significant portion of the materials.
Amid these developments, illegal migrant crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border are on the rise. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported over 7,000 migrant apprehensions on a single day. Additionally, there were 183,503 migrant encounters at the southern border in July, a figure higher than June’s encounters and indicative of ongoing challenges in border management.
