Sen. Lankford Seeks More Information Regarding Border Wall Construction In Arizona

Oklahoma U.S. Senator James Lankford, a persistent critic of the Biden administration’s border policies, is requesting detailed information from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on the agency’s plans to complete portions of the border wall in Arizona “under the radar.”

Tuesday, August 30th 2022, 7:26 pm



-

Oklahoma U.S. Senator James Lankford, a persistent critic of the Biden administration’s border policies, is requesting detailed information from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on the agency’s plans to complete portions of the border wall in Arizona “under the radar.”

Senator Lankford, the ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Government Operations and Border Management, sent a letter to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas “seeking clarification on the Department’s recent decision to close four areas of the southern border wall near Yuma, Arizona.”

In late July, DHS announced plans “to close four gaps located within an incomplete border barrier project near the Morelos Dam in the U.S. Border Patrol’s Yuma Sector,” reads a July 28 news release. “These projects address operational impacts, as well as immediate life and safety risks, and will be funded with DHS’s Fiscal Year 2021 appropriations.”

Lankford most recently visited the border with a handful of other GOP Senators in mid-July, saying that local law enforcement told him the Biden Administration is working to help people cross the border more efficiently, not securing the border. 

Oklahoma's junior senator was specifically in the Yuma region in late May, after which he raised concerns with unfinished sections of the wall on the Senate floor.

"What you see when you're in Yuma, Arizona first when you get there to the fencing area," Lankford told his colleagues, “is that you notice this." Lankford referred to an enlarged photograph of border fencing with a large gap in the middle of it.

Senator Lankford has made illegal immigration, and specifically the record number of illegal border crossings in the last 18 months, a priority issue. He said there's a reason illegal crossings are down in California and up in Arizona: There are no gaps in the wall in California.

"Close that gap. Why is this so hard? Close that gap," said Lankford.

Arizona Governor Doug Ducey took matters into his own hands earlier this month, using shipping containers to create a makeshift barrier along parts of the border in the Yuma sector, but gaps still remain.

Now, the Department of Homeland Security is on the job. Lankford has concerns and questions.

“While I welcome any improvements to our national security at the border,” said Sen. Lankford in a letter to DHS Secretary Alexander Mayorkas, “I am concerned that the prior instances where CBP has completed gaps in the border wall have not adequately addressed the national security and public safety needs at our southern border.”

In the letter, Lankford asked specifically for a detailed timeline of the DHS construction project and wants to know if the agency is using the materials purchased by former President Trump’s DHS but have sat untouched since President Biden took office. 

"’What is the status of the materials and contracts acquired by the Trump Administration to complete the border wall?’" Lankford asked. "’Have those materials been used in any border wall projects undertaken by the Biden Administration? If not, what are the Biden Administration’s plans for using these materials?’"

Sen. Lankford published a report in July 2021 asserting that the Biden Administration had wasted over $2 billion from Department of Defense (DOD) accounts on not building the border wall. 

That amount, the report stated, included costs for contractors to drive out to the worksites and guard the unused steel that had been acquired for the border wall but was left sitting when President Biden stopped all construction his first day in office.

The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a request for comment for this story.

logo

Get The Daily Update!

Be among the first to get breaking news, weather, and general news updates from News 9 delivered right to your inbox!

More Like This

August 30th, 2022

September 12th, 2023

August 31st, 2023

July 13th, 2023

Top Headlines

March 28th, 2024

March 28th, 2024

March 28th, 2024

March 28th, 2024