GOP lawmakers post videos of border wall materials rusting in desert after construction halted

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'Open borders' is Democratic Party policy, Biden-Harris fulfilling campaign promises: Abbott

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on the Biden administration facing backlash over border policies.

Almost three months after President Biden took office and terminated President Trump’s border emergency proclamation, Republicans are sharing new videos that show unused border wall construction materials rusting in the desert. 

Following trips down to the border, Reps. Scott Franklin, R-Fla., and Fred Keller, R-Pa., both posted videos showing piles of materials seemingly going to waste some 75 miles west of El Paso, Texas. 

"Look around, we've got millions of dollars of materials that could be used to complete the wall. They've been paid for, the contracts are there, but the Biden administration decided in a political move to shut it down," Franklin says in the video. 

BIDEN TO KEEP REFUGEE ADMISSIONS AT TRUMP-ERA LEVELS, DESPITE EARLIER MOVES TO INCREASE IT
 

"Wherever they were the moment the president made that stroke of the pen, the guys basically walked off the job site, got in their trucks and left. And all that material is still sitting there in the desert ready to be implemented," Franklin told Fox News. 

"There’s even talk of spending money to destroy those materials. It's maddening," he continued. 

In a separate video posted to Twitter, Keller had a similar reaction.

"That’s money sitting around… it cost them money to get this all here, it's going to cost them money to haul this stuff out of here… we ought to be paying them to put it on the border so that they can protect the farmers and ranchers out here," Keller said. 

During his first day on the job, Biden released a proclamation terminating the emergency concerning the southern border; he said the construction of a wall along the southern border was not a serious policy solution.

BIDEN MOVES TO DRAMATICALLY INCREASE REFUGEE ADMISSIONS

In his proclamation Biden stated, "It shall be the policy of my Administration that no more American taxpayer dollars be diverted to construct a border wall. I am also directing a careful review of all resources appropriated or redirected to construct a southern border wall."

In the same proclamation, Biden outlined a plan for redirecting funds and repurposing contracts used on border wall construction that will be in effect after 60 days. However, the deadline for the administration’s plan elapsed on March 21, 2021.

The Department of Homeland Security has released its budget proposal for fiscal year 2022 and in it the department held fast to the promise of not funding additional border wall construction.