TUCSON— Today the Biden Administration announced that it will begin to repair environmental damage from the border wall to flood barrier systems in the Rio Grande Valley and soil erosion in the San Diego sector. Additionally, the Department of Defense is cancelling construction contracts paid for with money Trump diverted from the Pentagon budget and returning that money to other military projects. In response, Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva issued the following statement:

“President Biden promised to not build one more foot of border wall under his watch, and I welcome this step by his Administration to begin repairing the damage caused by border wall construction. The border wall has done nothing but militarize border communities, destroy precious environmental habitats, and desecrate Native American sacred sites. After such abuses of power, cancelling the contracts and repairing the environmental damage is the least we can do.

“While we await the administration’s final report on their ‘Plan for Redirecting Funding and Repurposing Contracts,’ I will continue to urge the Biden Administration to meaningfully engage with local stakeholders on mitigating and repairing the environmental harm caused by construction, cancel all remaining contracts, remove troops and military equipment from the border, and rescind the harmful REAL ID Act waiver of 2005 that has facilitated this destruction. Border communities can’t wait any longer.”

Rep. Grijalva has repeatedly urged the Biden Administration to take strong action to end border wall construction, cancel existing contracts, and repair environmental damage. Most recently, he sent a letter to President Biden in late April calling for an end to wall construction, cancellation of contracts, end of the REAL ID waivers, and the termination of unnecessary troop deployments.

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