Mexico City, Mexico — The Joe Biden administration will return more than $2 billion in funds that his predecessor Donald Trump allocated to build a border wall between the United States and Mexico. Biden says the funds will go back to the army with remaining money being used for construction site cleanup.
Biden made the announcement Friday saying that the returned money will fund 66 military projects spanning 11 states, three US territories and 16 countries. Projects include $79 million to renovate an American military school in Germany and $9 million for a shooting range in Indiana.
Republican Trump made the wall an emblem of his presidency arguing that it was necessary to stop illegal immigration and drug smuggling. During his four-year tenure, Trump raised about $15 billion for the project including $10 billion in redirected military funds.
Biden, a Democrat, signed a decree on January 20, his first day in office, that halted construction of the wall saying that “a huge wall that spans the entire southern border is not a serious political solution.”
The Biden administration said Friday that it will use its legal powers to stop any new construction of a border wall while asking Congress to redirect existing resources to technology-based border security.
