One of the reasons that there’s such a border crisis right now is not only Joe Biden telegraphing to migrants that he would be more welcoming to them if they came, but because he also dismantled some of the protections that President Donald Trump had put in place to stop the flow, including on January 20, in one of his first acts, stopping Trump’s border wall construction and freezing the money that had been allocated by Congress for its funding.
But now that’s earned him an investigation from the Government Accountability Office to “determine whether [he] broke the law by freezing the money in violation of budget rules designed to keep Congress in control of the cash flow.”
Forty Republican senators wrote a letter appealing to the GAO that this was a breach of Congress’ Constitutional authority.
“[O]perational control of our southern border was compromised and a humanitarian and national security crisis has ensued. The President’s actions directly contributed to this unfortunate, yet entirely avoidable, scenario. They are also a blatant violation of federal law and infringe on Congress’s constitutional power of the purse. We write regarding these actions. We believe they violated the Impoundment Control Act (ICA), as interpreted by your office, and we request your legal opinion on the matter. Prompt action to end these violations is required to restore order at the border.
60 House members and four more senators have also joined the call on Tuesday against Biden’s actions, calling for the investigation.
The senators’ letter argued that the ICA requires Biden to justify his actions in a message to Congress “that includes the amount of budget authority proposed for deferral or rescission and the reason for the proposal.” Congress approved almost $1.4 billion in border wall funding in December 2020 for Fiscal Year 2021 as part of a $900 billion coronavirus stimulus package.
The GAO has accepted the request and has now started investigating.
Biden was so anxious to do away with all President Donald Trump’s achievements at the border; now it’s all coming back to haunt him, justifiably, as doing away with those protections logically resulted in a disaster. He wanted it, now he’s gotten it, in spades.
They’ve had to open up all kinds of different facilities to deal with the flow, including the Dallas Convention Center for illegal alien teens and now even military bases. It’s gotten so bad they’re reportedly considering just releasing people in the Rio Grande Valley into the country without court dates if they claim asylum because they don’t have the room and ability to deal with them all. Congress is demanding answers on that as well. Meanwhile, Biden is under fire for the humanitarian conditions in the CBP facilities, where the kids are in plastic ‘cages’ and adult detention cells, held far longer than the law allows, without adequate showers, food, or seeing the sun for days.
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