The Biden administration on Friday announced that it would halt the sale of materials designated for building a border wall in anticipation of the upcoming Trump administration, which plans to implement stricter measures to address illegal immigration.
The Biden administration has confirmed in court that it will comply with a court order preventing the disposal of any additional border wall materials for the next 30 days, allowing President-elect Trump to utilize those materials, as stated by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
The Biden administration has been auctioning off border wall components since at least 2023, with parts being listed for sale on various auction platforms after halting most border wall construction in 2021.
Piles of unused border fence at a border wall construction site near Columbus, N.M., on Monday, April 12, 2021.
(Photo By Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
President-elect Donald Trump urged the Biden Administration to cease the sale. Representatives from Trump’s team were reached out to by Fox News Digital.
“We have successfully prevented the Biden Administration from disposing of any additional border wall materials before President Trump assumes office,” said Paxton.
“This follows our significant win in compelling Biden to construct the wall, and we will ensure his Administration is held accountable for unlawfully undermining our nation’s border security until their final day in power, particularly when their actions are clearly aimed at obstructing President-elect Trump’s immigration agenda,” he added.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks at a news conference in Dallas on June 22, 2017.
(AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, File)
In a news release, Paxton’s office stated that if the Biden administration disposes of border wall materials acquired with funds under an injunction in violation of a court order, it would be considered unethical and punishable conduct, and officials could be held in contempt of court.
Texas has expressed its intention to assist the incoming administration in constructing the wall at the southern border when Trump assumes office.
The Biden administration abruptly halted border wall construction in January 2021 after completing 450 miles in the initial Trump administration term. While proponents argue that a wall is essential to curbing illegal immigration, some Democrats view the project as xenophobic and ineffective.
HOUSE OVERSIGHT REPUBLICANS INVESTIGATING BIDEN ADMIN’S SALE OF BORDER WALL PARTS: ‘WASTE AND ABUSE’
President Donald Trump tours a section of the border wall on Tuesday, June 23, 2020, in San Luis, Ariz. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
The auctioning of border wall components commenced in 2023 with parts listed for sale on GovPlanet.com, an online auction platform. The Defense Department’s logistics agency informed media outlets that the surplus material was transferred for disposition by the Army Corps of Engineers and is now up for sale.
These auctions have persisted, with Arizona officials informing Fox News Digital that auctions have been held weekly for some time. The practice garnered attention when The Daily Wire released a video showing unused wall parts being transported on flatbed trucks in Arizona, despite the materials being potentially useful in the next Trump administration.
Trump previously denounced Biden’s sale of unused border wall materials at a discounted rate as “almost a criminal act.”
He expressed concern that the auctions would cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars to repurchase the large steel bollards and concrete. Trump appealed to President Biden to “please stop selling the wall” and hinted at obtaining a restraining order to cease the sales.
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“What they’re doing is really an act, it’s almost a criminal act,” he remarked. “They know we’re going to use it, and if we don’t have it, we’re going to have to rebuild it, and it’ll cost double what it cost years ago, and that’s hundreds of millions of dollars because you’re talking about a lot of wall.”
Fox News Digital’s Adam Shaw, Brooke Singman, and Peter Pinedo contributed to this report.
