Missouri and Texas filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration over the border wall construction. The two states aim to resume the construction of the wall at the United States southern border.
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed the lawsuit on Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas. The lawsuit argues that U.S. President Joe Biden did not have any authority to refuse to spend the funds that Congress already authorized to construct the border wall.
Such funds were disbursed under the Trump administration under the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020. Under this appropriation, Congress gave more than $1.3 billion to construct the border wall along the southwest area.
Homeland Security Also Did Not Have Authority
CNN reported that when Biden proclaimed the pause of the border wall construction on Jan. 20, the Department of Homeland Security also acted without authority in implementing such a proclamation. The proclamation likewise canceled the contracts entered into to build the border wall.
CNN quoted a part of the lawsuit saying, “The President and his agencies may not unilaterally override duly enacted appropriations bills to fulfill a campaign promise.”
Refusal To Spend Funds Allows Migrants To Enter
In the lawsuit, Missouri and Texas also said that the refusal to spend the congressional-appropriated funds on the construction of the border wall allows more migrants to enter the U.S. through Missouri and Texas. The increase in the number of migrants also increased costs in Missouri and Texas in issuing driver’s licenses and providing public education, health care, and the like. The two states said that such costs are unrecoverable.
Fox News added that the lawsuit stated that the Biden administration refused to take concrete action to control the worsening border crisis. Because of such refusal, the lawsuit noted it invites cartels and human drug smugglers to take advantage of the border.
What The Lawsuit Prays For
The lawsuit of the two states prays for the court to find that the proclamation is unlawful and compel the spending of the funds.
