According to U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, contractors have been informed to pause all border wall construction activities on U.S. Customs and Border Protection self-executed projects by Wednesday, Jan. 27.
In a release from Cuellar’s office, the congressman stated all CBP contractors have now been formally notified by CBP Procurement, which handles among other things, contracts, to pause construction activities on CBP self-executed projects.
Cuellar additionally stated he received the notification as part of his role as a senior member of the Appropriations Committee, responsible for among other things, passing appropriation bills along with the Senate.
“While CBP cannot speak on behalf of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) or U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), it is expected that DOD and USACE are undertaking parallel action on CBP-funded border wall projects that they are overseeing,” Cuellar’s statement read in part.
Cuellar stated the news was a positive step in stopping construction of what he characterized as an “ineffective and wasteful” border wall.
“I remain steadfast in my commitment to working with the new administration until every border wall contract is terminated and all construction crews leave our border communities,” he said.
Last month, in a letter to then President-Elect Biden, the congressman called for the administration to rescind the national emergency declaration and reprogrammed funding; direct the Department of Justice to dismiss all condemnation suits; terminate for convenience all current and pending Army Corps of Engineers contracts; among other wall-related items.
Just last week, Biden signed several immigration, and wall-related executive orders and memos on his first day in office. Among the orders was a halt to construction of barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border that was funded as a result of an emergency declaration made by President Trump in February 2019.
