U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, says real estate acquisition activities such as surveys and negotiations with landowners have been placed on hold.
On Thursday, Cuellar said in a news release he received notification that in connection with President Biden’s executive orders, U.S. Customs and Border Protection sent notice to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to pause negotiations for acquiring land for border wall construction.
The congressman said he would work with the Department of Justice to ensure that any activities associated with “pending court proceedings are terminated and the civil actions are ultimately dismissed.”
“In efforts to fulfill the former president’s campaign promise, the Trump administration went to great lengths to seize private land from farmers and ranchers to build a wasteful, ineffective border wall,” Cuellar said in the release. “I want to thank the Biden administration for continuing to fulfill their pledge to stop wall construction on the southern border. As the Vice Chair of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Appropriations, I will continue to fight for the rights of border residents, many of whom have passed down their land for generations.”
Earlier this week, Cuellar said contractors had been informed to pause all border wall construction activities on CBP self-executed projects by Wednesday, Jan. 27.
