Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) demanded on X (formerly Twitter) that President Biden “reverse course” on constructing a wall at the U.S. border with Mexico, saying a “wall does nothing” and represents a “cruel policy.”
“The Biden administration was not required to expand construction of the border wall — and they certainly were not required to waive several environmental laws to expedite the building,” AOC wrote. “The President needs to take responsibility for this decision and reverse course.”
She added, “A wall does nothing to deter people who are fleeing poverty and violence from coming to the United States. Walls only serve to push migrants into more remote areas, increasing their chances of death. It is a cruel policy.”
AOC said the president should instead “more seriously” examine the “root of migration,” and “should stop contributing to the destabilization that drives migration.”
The “Squad” member added that the U.S. should “finally invest in meaningful immigration reform.”
On Thursday, Biden suggested the decision to build the wall was out of his hands.
“Money was appropriated for the border wall,” he told reporters at the White House. “I tried to get them to reappropriate, to redirect that money, but they didn’t. They wouldn’t. And in the meantime, there’s nothing under the law other than they have to use the money for what it was appropriated. I can’t stop that.”
