R47979 — DHS Border Barrier Funding Developments: FY2021-FY2024

Appropriations law states that when budget authority is provided for a given purpose, the Administration must use it for that purpose. This can present a challenge when a new Administration’s priorities deviate significantly from its predecessor, especially as it pertains to major procurement and construction investments. The policy transition on border security infrastructure in the early 2020s is an example of how this can play out. The Donald J. Trump Administration came into office using campaign rhetoric of a “big beautiful wall” on the U.S.-Mexico border as a hallmark of his immigration policy. The Joseph R. Biden Administration came into office using contrasting campaign rhetoric of “not one more mile” of border barrier construction as part of a change in approach. However, when the Biden Administration came into office in January 2021, the rhetoric of the campaign met the reality of the development process for border infrastructure. This process had taken unprecedented turns under the Trump Administration, but was incomplete, with key priorities unmet, and more than a billion dollars of unobligated budget authority specifically appropriated by Congress for construction of border barriers. On its first day in office, the Biden Administration announced Department of Defense and military construction funding would no longer be redirected to construction of border walls. New obligations would be paused until a plan was developed to address incomplete projects and to reprioritize the work on existing infrastructure, since the redirected funds were no longer available. DOD proceeded with cancellation of its projects and turning over the infrastructure it had developed to DHS for completion, operation, and maintenance. DHS proceeded with two emergency projects in the San Diego and Rio Grande Valley Sectors while the Administration developed its plan for how to proceed more broadly. The Biden Administration sought rescission of the unobligated DHS appropriations in FY2022, to no avail, and likewise was turned down by Congress when it sought additional flexibility in use of unobligated funds through appropriations language in FY2023. DHS released an initial plan for use of its border barrier funding in June 2021. This involved major changes to planned border barrier improvements, which precipitated a reassessment of the associated contracts. Most contracts signed by the previous administration were cancelled, and DHS proceeded with environmental planning and stakeholder engagement for a new slate of remediation and wall system completion projects. The Biden Administration revised its border barrier plan in July 2022, providing more details on how it would proceed with reprioritizing available funds. In June 2023, the Biden Administration announced plans to move ahead with an additional 20 miles of new border barrier construction in the Rio Grande Valley Sector, and in October 2023, DHS exercised special waiver authorities to expedite its construction. This report describes how the Biden Administration has sought to make changes in policy regarding border barriers, with a particular focus on how the existing appropriations for construction of those barriers have affected that process. The legal and administrative handling of the border wall project by the two administrations can serve as a case study to highlight the power of appropriations law and practice, if properly overseen, and the limitations that a new administration may face in trying to influence ongoing programs set in place by a prior administration and Congress.

Curated by CRS — every bill listed in this report's relatedMaterials. Edge type cited_in_report, gold confidence.

• HR 4367 — Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2024 · 118th Cong
• S 2625 — Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2024 · 118th Cong
• HR 815 — Making emergency supplemental appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2024, and for · 118th Cong
• HR 2 — Secure the Border Act of 2023 · 118th Cong