DHS ‘legally Required’ to Spend Trump’s Border Wall Money, Officials Say; Biden Redirecting Billions Approved for Wall to Environmental and Safety Concerns at Border, and related stories

DHS ‘legally required’ to spend Trump’s border wall money, officials say:

Homeland Security officials said Friday they are “legally required” to spend billions of dollars Congress allocated to Mexican border wall construction, but said they will focus on projects that “mitigate” damage from previous construction rather than on finishing the wall President Trump had planned.

Billions of dollars in Defense Department money Mr. Trump had diverted toward the wall have already been canceled and returned to the Pentagon, but the Department of Homeland Security said there is a large pool of money Capitol Hill approved over the last four years specifically for border barriers, and it is obligated to spend it.

“Congress provided DHS with some funding for border barrier projects, which the agency is legally required to use consistent with their appropriated purpose,” the department said. “In doing so, DHS will prioritize the remaining border barrier funds to address and remediate urgent life, safety and environmental issues resulting from the previous administration’s border wall construction.” —>READ MORE HERE

Biden redirecting billions approved for wall to environmental and safety concerns at border:

The remainder of billions of dollars that Congress appropriated for border wall construction during the Trump administration will instead be spent on safety and environmental concerns left from the projects, the Biden administration announced Friday afternoon.

President Joe Biden suspended wall construction after taking office in late January and ordered his administration to review all $15 billion in wall spending, of which $4 billion came from Congress, and $10.5 billion was diverted by former President Donald Trump from the Defense Department. Of the $10.5 billion in money redirected from the Pentagon, just $2 billion was unspent.

The Department of Homeland Security is legally obligated to spend the remainder of the funds appropriated by Congress on border-related construction. For example, the remainder will be spent to install a levee system in 13.4 miles of low-lying borderland in Hidalgo County, Texas. The need for a levee system arose after border wall construction started and then stopped.

“DHS will also prioritize using the remaining funds consistent with their appropriated purposes for necessary clean-up of construction sites previously funded by the Department of Defense, including drainage, erosion control, site remediation, and material disposal,” the department said in a statement. —.READ MORE HERE

Follow links below to related stories:

Biden administration reallocates $2.2 billion in Trump border wall funds to military projects

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Biden’s Illegal Alien Invasion Hits Highest Numbers Since 2006 Illegal Alien Amnesty Push

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