The Biden administration is spending more than $1 billion to make America’s land ports of entry more climate-friendly while it tries to redirect funds away from border wall construction amid an unprecedented surge in illegal immigration into the U.S.
The General Services Administration (GSA) — a federal agency that is responsible for managing federal buildings and real estate, among other things — will spend more than $1 billion on various projects to make dozens of land ports of entry more green, the agency announced Thursday. The Biden administration is deploying these funds while it is locked in a legal battle in which it is seeking to redirect funds away from the construction of a border wall amid an ongoing illegalimmigration crisis at America’s borders.
“By incorporating clean construction materials and clean energy technologies into these projects, we’re not only supporting bringing these border stations into the 21st century — we’re also supporting the clean energy industries that will lead our economy in the future,” GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan said of the funding. “These critical investments from the President’s Investing in America Agenda help strengthen security while creating good-paying jobs, reducing harmful emissions and boosting domestic manufacturing.”
The funds will go to support 38 projects at land ports of entry across the U.S. to reduce emissions by funding things like paving, building and facility electrification, electric vehicle charger installations and other similar initiatives, according to the GSA. The selected land ports of entry include numerous locations along both the southern and northern borders.
Meanwhile, the Biden administration has presided over an unprecedented immigration crisis since assuming power in 2021, with enough illegal immigrants entering into the country in 2023 alone to fill Yankee Stadium 17 times over. The administration is also in the middle of a legal dispute with the state of Texas, which is pushing to prevent the federal government from redirecting $1.4 billion of congressionally-authorized border wall funds to different causes and programs, according to The Texas Tribune.
Neither the White House nor the GSA responded immediately to requests for comment.
