The Biden administration says it may restart construction of the border wall to fill 'gaps' left by Trump

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The Biden administration says it may restart construction of the border wall to fill 'gaps' left by Trump
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said "limited funding" had been allocated to construction of the wall.Getty
  • President Biden could restart some building along the US-Mexico border, the Washington Times reported.
  • President Biden had pledged to halt the construction of former President Trump's border wall.
  • However, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said some "gaps in the wall" need filling.
  • White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said "limited funding" had been allocated to construction.
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The Biden administration may restart building some of the wall along the United States' southern border, despite President Joe Biden pledging to cease all construction of former President Donald Trump's keystone project.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas this week told colleagues that some construction may be resumed along the border wall in order to plug some "gaps" in the barrier between Mexico and the United States, the Washington Times reported.

According to the report, Mayorkas told colleagues that President Joe Biden had frozen Department of Defense funding for the wall and said: "But that leaves room to make decisions as the administration, as part of the administration, in particular areas of the wall that need renovation, particular projects that need to be finished."

He said areas, where construction may be resumed, could include gaps, gates, and areas where the wall had been built but planned technology had not been installed. Insider contacted the DHS for comment.

President Biden pledged not to build "another foot of wall" during his administration and halted all federal funding to the border wall on his first day in office.

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He gave officials a 60-day deadline to determine how to proceed with President Trump's half-finished project.

That deadline passed in March, with officials telling Insider that a plan would come "soon" and seemingly still struggling to work out legally how to divert funding allocated for the wall under Trump to other projects.

Most construction work has been paused since. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki was pressed about the Washington Times report on Tuesday and told officials that "limited construction" had been funded, but said most work otherwise remained paused.

She said:�"Wall construction remains paused, to the extent permitted by law. So some has already been funded through congressional authorization and funding allocation. But as agencies develop for a plan - it's paused while agencies are developing a plan for the President on the management of the federal funds."

"It is paused. There is some limited construction that has been funded and allocated for, but it is otherwise paused."

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Experts told Insider's Mia Jankowicz in March that the diverting wall funding was not a current priority as the administration tries to tackle a significant surge in border crossings along the southern border.

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