Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey obtained a court order forcing the Biden Administration to use congressionally appropriated funds to construct a barrier along the southern border.
“The Biden Administration has failed to abide by the law to finish the construction of a wall along the southwest border,” said Attorney General Bailey. “Joe Biden refuses to carry out his constitutionally mandated responsibilities, so we took him to court to force him to do his job. This is a huge step forward in the fight to secure our border at a key moment in our nation’s history.”
In FY 2020, Congress passed a law explicitly requiring the President to construct barrier systems at the southern border to keep unauthorized individuals out of our country. The law provided $1.4 billion to build the border wall and explicitly stated the money “shall only be available for construction of barrier systems along the southwest border.” The Biden Administration refused to comply with Congress’ command.
When asked why the Biden Administration “did not build a barrier, such as a wall, to keep migrants out,” it replied that “[i]t is not the policy of this administration” because “[w]e do not agree with the building of a wall.” DHS expressed its intention to “end wall expansion.” The Administration even “call[ed] on Congress to cancel remaining border wall funding” because they knew that without congressional action, they would need to use the appropriated funds for their specified purpose: finish the construction of President Trump’s border wall. Yet when Congress did not capitulate to its demands, the Biden Administration ignored its constitutional obligations to abide by Congress’ appropriations laws and opted not to use the funding for the purpose Congress directed.
Missouri, alongside Texas, immediately filed suit. The Biden Administration attempted to argue General Bailey did not have standing to challenge its refusal to use the funds, but the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that states can indeed bring a challenge.
Original source can be found here.