Yes, Biden has previously said that he wouldn't construct any more of the border wall

On Oct. 3, the Biden administration announced they waived 26 federal laws that will allow 20 miles of border wall construction in south Texas.

After the announcement, several VERIFY viewers, including John and Brandon, reached out to ask if Biden had previously said that under his administration he would not construct any more of the border wall. 

THE QUESTION

Did Biden previously say he wouldn't construct any more of the border wall?

THE SOURCES

• Department of Homeland Security
• Biden remarks during an Oct. 5, 2023 national security briefing
• Jan. 20, 2021 “Proclamation on the Termination Of Emergency With Respect To The Southern Border Of The United States And Redirection Of Funds Diverted To Border Wall Construction”
• Aug. 8, 2020 Biden interview with National Association of Black Journalists and National Association of Hispanic Journalists.
• Opinion piece penned by Biden and published by the Miami Herald on June 24, 2019

THE ANSWER

Yes, Biden previously said that he wouldn't construct any more of the border wall. In 2021, Biden issued a presidential proclamation terminating border wall construction and while on the campaign trail, he said “there will not be another foot of wall constructed on my administration.”

WHAT WE FOUND

President Biden has opposed additional construction of the border wall since he took office. In 2021, he issued a proclamation terminating all future construction. But because funds were allocated in 2019 exclusively for border wall construction while Donald Trump was in office, Biden now says he has no choice but to continue building the wall because he couldn’t redirect the funds.

The border wall construction is slated to begin in Starr County, Texas, according to a Department of Homeland Security bulletin about the wall construction. This is an area of “high illegal entry,” the bulletin says — as of August 2023 there were more than 245,000 illegal entrants trying to cross the border in the vicinity, DHS says in the bulletin. 

During a national security briefing held on Oct. 5, 2023, Biden was asked about his decision to allow the construction to move forward.

Biden said: “I’ll answer one question on the border wall.  The border wall — the money was appropriated for the border wall.  I tried to get to them to reappropriate it, to redirect that money.  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.”

He was then asked “Do you believe the border wall works?” He answered “No.”

Biden has repeatedly tried to shut down any border wall construction and has condemned Trump-era policies about the wall.

In Biden’s 2021 proclamation he wrote: “Like every nation, the United States has a right and a duty to secure its borders and protect its people against threats.  But building a massive wall that spans the entire southern border is not a serious policy solution.  It is a waste of money that diverts attention from genuine threats to our homeland security,”

Previously, on Aug. 8, 2020, while he was campaigning for president, Biden said: “There will not be another foot of wall constructed on my administration, No. 1.” He said that in an interview with journalists from the National Association of Black Journalists and National Association of Hispanic Journalists.

Also while on the campaign trail, Biden penned an op-ed published in the Miami Herald on June 24, 2019, that said “build the wall” was a slogan “divorced from reality.”

“[The wall] won’t stop the flow of illegal narcotics or human trafficking, both of which come primarily through legal ports of entry. Nor will it stop asylum seekers fleeing the most desperate conditions imaginable and who have the right to have their cases heard. Nor will it stem the numbers of undocumented, most of whom overstay legal visas. We need to focus instead on improving screening procedures at our legal ports of entry and making smart investments in border technology. These are sensible policies that will do more for our security than a wall ever could,” Biden wrote.

This isn’t the first time that portions of the border wall have been constructed under the Biden administration. Homeland Security has also worked on roughly 13 miles in the Rio Grande Valley, the same general location where the new construction is slated to begin, and another small-scale project to fill “small gaps that remain open from prior construction activities” in the border wall.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.