SAN DIEGO — All border wall construction is scheduled to grind to a halt on Wednesday, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) which notified contractors of the stoppage.
The release indicated that CBP contractors must stop all border wall construction projects by Jan. 27, according to Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, who is a member of the House Appropriations Committee.
While the statement did not indicate whether contractors with the Department of Defense or U.S. Army Corps of Engineers would also stop, Cuellar said it is likely they will also halt any projects.
"This morning, as a senior member of the Appropriations Committee, I received notification that in accordance with President Biden’s executive order, all CBP contractors have now been formally notified by CBP Procurement to pause construction activities on CBP self-executed projects," Cuellar said in a statement. "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."
The move is in line with President Joe Biden's executive order signed this month halting all border wall-related construction authorized under the previous Trump administration. The Jan. 20 order outlines that work on each construction project on the southern border wall must be stopped to the extent by law no later than seven days after the order.
The order also orders a review of how funds were appropriated to the wall and pause any funds that were directed to the wall. Read the full text of Biden's proclamation here.
This story was originally published by Mark Saunders on KGTV in San Diego.
