AOC demands Biden 'reverse course' on border wall construction amid migrant surge: 'Cruel policy'
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., demanded that President Biden "reverse course" on constructing a wall at the U.S. border with Mexico, saying a "wall does nothing" and represents a "cruel policy."
"The Biden administration was not required to expand construction of the border wall — and they certainly were not required to waive several environmental laws to expedite the building," Ocasio-Cortez wrote on X. "The President needs to take responsibility for this decision and reverse course."
She added, "A wall does nothing to deter people who are fleeing poverty and violence from coming to the United States. Walls only serve to push migrants into more remote areas, increasing their chances of death. It is a cruel policy."
Ocasio-Cortez said the president should instead "more seriously" examine the "root of migration," and "should stop contributing to the destabilization that drives migration."
BIDEN ADMINISTRATION ACCUSED OF HYPOCRISY FOR PROPOSING BORDER WALL AMID MIGRANT CRISIS
The "Squad" member added that the U.S. should "finally invest in meaningful immigration reform."
The lawmaker’s comments come as the Biden administration announced earlier this week that it would be waiving dozens of federal laws in order to construct a border wall in South Texas.
On Thursday, Biden suggested the decision to build the wall was out of his hands.
"Money was appropriated for the border wall," Biden told reporters at the White House. "I tried to get them to reappropriate, to redirect that money, but they didn't. They wouldn't. And in the meantime, there's nothing under the law other than they have to use the money for what it was appropriated."
"I can't stop that," he added.
When a reporter asked if Biden believes a border wall is effective in reducing illegal immigration, the president said, "No."
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who initially expressed an "immediate need" for a wall, also clarified Thursday that its construction represented no change in the administration's position.
"I want to address today’s reporting relating to a border wall and be absolutely clear," he said in a statement. "There is no new Administration policy with respect to border walls. From day one, this Administration has made clear that a border wall is not the answer."
The funds Biden referenced were appropriated under former President Trump, who made constructing a border wall a major point of his successful 2016 presidential campaign.
Ocasio-Cortez, who was first elected to Congress representing New York's 14th Congressional District in the 2018 midterms, has been a vocal critic of Trump and the construction of a border wall.
She most recently won re-election in Nov. 2022, trouncing Republican candidate Tina Forte with over 70% of the vote.
Fox News Digital reached out to Ocasio-Cortez's congressional office for additional comment, but they did not immediately respond.