US President Joe Biden’s administration has approved border wall construction in southern Texas in an effort to stop illegal immigration.
Around 20 miles (32km) will be erected in Starr County, which is on the border with Mexico.
Border officials are currently seeing high levels of illegal crossings in the area.The move is considered a U-turn by the president, who promised to stop further construction of such barriers.
“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,” Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said in an announcement.
More than 245,000 illegal crossings have been made so far this year, according to government data.
Dozens of federal laws have been waived in order to approve construction of the wall, including the Clean Air Act and Safe Drinking Water Act.
The move has angered environmentalists, who say the structures will cut through the habitats of endangered plants and animals.
“It’s disheartening to see President Biden stoop to this level, casting aside our nation’s bedrock environmental laws to build ineffective wildlife-killing border walls,” said Laiken Jordahl, a conservation advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity.
According to a proposal by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the barriers will consist of large bollards embedded in a concrete base, as well as gates, cameras and CCTV equipment.
Homeland Security said it would draw on funding agreed when former President Donald Trump was in power to build them.
It is the first time the Biden administration has used its powers to approve the construction of new walls – something that was done often during Mr Trump’s time in office.
While on the campaign trail in 2020, Mr Biden promised there would be “not be another foot of wall constructed” if he was elected.
Speaking to Fox News on Wednesday, Mr Trump blamed the president for halting construction and causing a crisis at the southern border.
Mr Biden has been facing increasing criticism over his immigration policies in the wake of a recent surge of migrants crossing into the US.
US Border Patrol apprehended 181,059 people along the southern border in August compared with 132,648 in July, according to the latest data.
Some 10,000 people arrived at the border every day last week alone, according to Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
