In an exclusive revelation, former President Donald Trump has accused the Biden administration of acknowledging the "immediate need" for a border wall only because President Biden is witnessing an "invasion" of the United States by illegal migrants.
Trump further warned that "terrorists" have "already" infiltrated the country.
This comes after Alejandro Mayorkas, the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), announced on Wednesday the "acute and immediate need" to bypass several federal laws to construct a border wall in south Texas, an area experiencing a surge in illegal migration. The DHS justified this move by citing "high illegal entry" over 245,000 migrant encounters have been documented in the Rio Grande Valley Sector this year alone.
In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital following the DHS announcement, Trump, who is currently leading the 2024 Republican primary field by a significant margin, held Biden responsible for halting the construction of the border wall and thereby causing the crisis at the southern border.
"Biden sees our country is being invaded," Trump stated. "What is he going to do about the 15 million people from prisons, from mental institutions, insane asylums, and terrorists that have already come into our country?"
The number of individuals arrested in FY 2023 between ports of entry by Border Patrol at the southern border who are on the FBI's terror watchlist reached a new record this year, with 151 arrests in FY 23, compared to 98 in FY 2022 and 15 in FY 21. At the ports of entry at the northern and southern border, 505 people have been encountered by Customs and Border Protection's Office of Field Operations.
The watch list, officially known as the Terrorist Screening Dataset (TSDS), is the governments database that "contains sensitive information on terrorist identities." The watch list was initially created to store information on known or suspected terrorists, but "has evolved over the last decade to include additional individuals who represent a potential threat to the United States, including known affiliates of watchlisted individuals," according to CBP.
Although the number is relatively small compared to the millions of migrants encountered at the borders in recent years, Republicans and former border officials have expressed concern about the number of individuals on the terror watch list who are evading Border Patrol agents. In FY 2022, at least 599,000 illegal immigrants escaped Border Patrol custody, following more than 390,000 in FY 2021.
"What has happened to our country?" Trump questioned, adding that the Biden administration needs to "go back to Trump policies."
"He has to reinstate Remain in Mexico and Title 42," Trump insisted. "He has to do all of the other things that we were doing."
A spokesperson for the Trump campaign told Fox News Digital on Wednesday night that "President Trump is always right."
"Thats why he built close to 500 miles of powerful new wall on the border and it would have been finished by now," the spokesperson stated. "Instead, Crooked Joe Biden turned our country into one giant sanctuary for dangerous criminal aliens."
These comments were made after the Department of Homeland Security posted an announcement on the U.S. Federal Register on Wednesday night outlining construction in Starr County in the Rio Grande Valley Sector.
Mayorkas stated that he is using his authority granted by Congress to waive 26 federal laws, including the Clean Air Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, and Endangered Species Act.
"There is presently an acute and immediate need to construct physical barriers and roads in the vicinity of the border of the United States in order to prevent unlawful entries into the United States in the project areas pursuant to sections 102(a) and 102(b) of [the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996]," Mayorkas declared.
A spokesperson for Customs and Border Protection told Fox News Digital on Wednesday that the project aligns with "DHSs plan to fulfill the requirements of President Bidens Proclamation, which ended the diversion of funds for border wall from military projects or other sources while calling for the expenditure of any funds Congress appropriated for barrier construction consistent with their appropriated purpose."
The construction is funded by the FY 2019 DHS appropriations bill, which specifically funded wall projects in the RGV Sector and which DHS is obligated to use for its appropriated purpose. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced plans for up to 20 miles of wall in the RGV Sector in June. The administration previously made moves to close gaps and replace gates, and says that such projects prioritize the completion of activities and projects to address life, safety, and operational risks including the safety of individuals, Border Patrol agents, and migrants.
A CBP spokesperson confirmed to Fox News Digital that the waiver is for barrier projects announced in June, and that it will cover approximately 17 miles in Starr County. The spokesperson said that the project is consistent with DHS' plan to fulfill President Biden's Jan 20, 2021 proclamation which "ended the diversion of funds for border wall from military projects or other sources while calling for the expenditure of any funds Congress appropriated for barrier construction consistent with their appropriated purpose."
"CBP remains committed to protecting the nations cultural and natural resources and will implement sound environmental practices as part of the project covered by this waiver," the spokesperson added.
The administration had put a halt to new border wall construction in early 2021, after then-candidate Biden had promised there would "not be another foot of wall constructed on my administration." The administration said that wall construction under the Trump administration was "just one example of the prior Administrations misplaced priorities and failure to manage migration in a safe, orderly, and humane way."
This announcement comes as the Biden administration is grappling with a fresh surge in illegal immigration, leading to record-high numbers at the southern border and intense political criticism from both Republicans and Democrats. Sources from Customs and Border Protection (CBP) told Fox News last week that there were more than 260,000 encounters in September which would be the highest monthly total on record.
Meanwhile, Trump last month pledged, if re-elected, to execute "the largest domestic deportation operation in American history," and promised to begin a second term by "immediately" terminating "every Open Borders policy of the Biden Administration."
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