The Biden administration is pumping $1 billion in taxpayer money to America’s northern and southern borders to make dozens of federal ports of entry climate-friendly.
The General Services Administration (GSA) announced it would direct Inflation Control Act funding to support climate change efforts near the border, even as a surge in immigration strains federal resources. . GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan and Andrew Mayock, co-chair of President Biden’s Federal Purchasing Clean Task Force, said the measure would reduce “harmful emissions,” but the move condemned by experts.
“As usual, the Biden administration is refusing to address the problems it created,” House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) told Fox News Digital. . “Instead, they are touting billions of dollars of investment in green technology at the border while the Biden border crisis continues to wreak havoc on local communities and federal lands. While we’re at it, let’s talk about tinkering.”
“The House Natural Resources Committee has repeatedly focused on these issues and recently held a field hearing in one of the hardest-hit areas in southern Arizona, yet the current administration has not been able to address the crisis they caused. “They refuse to deal with it,” he continued. .
Democratic states and immigrant-infested cities funnel millions of dollars in federal coronavirus aid to help illegal aliens.
The Biden administration is putting $1 billion in federal funds toward green energy at the U.S. border. (License, Getty Images)
Top Republican lawmakers have repeatedly called attention to both the border crisis and environmental degradation caused indirectly by migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.
“Spending $1 billion to build so-called ‘green’ ports of entry is a response to the American people who see our open borders policies destroying our beautiful public lands every day,” Westerman said. For them, it feels like a slap in the face.”
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According to GSA, this funding will help reduce overall operational emissions from federal activities at the border, develop 23 all-electric buildings, projects to ensure net-zero emissions are achieved at four land ports of entry, It will support modernization and paving projects with concrete carbon avoidance. .
For example, a $200 million renovation of the Port of America Bridge in El Paso, Texas, will include the installation of solar panels, electric vehicle chargers, and other energy-efficient equipment. Another $135 million will be used to fully electrify the Douglas Commercial Port in Cochise County, Arizona, and $100 million will be used to make the San Luis Land Port, Arizona the first net-zero port of entry.
House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) speaks at a press conference in Washington, D.C., March 28, 2023. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
In addition to spending hundreds of millions of dollars on southern border ports in California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, GSA will also spend millions more on decarbonization projects along the U.S.-Canada border in Washington, Idaho, North Dakota, and Minnesota. is being allocated. New York, Vermont, and Maine.
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James Massa, CEO of NumbersUSA, told FOX News Digital, “The Biden administration has taken no effective steps to stem the flow of illegal immigration into the United States, “We have made it abundantly clear that we will only try to process people’s admissions more quickly.”
“The long-term impact of the administration’s stated goal of adding as many people to the U.S. population as possible by circumventing immigration restrictions introduced by Congress will mean that our nation’s carbon footprint will increase significantly. , which is inconsistent with President Biden’s stated goals,” he added.
A Texas state trooper cleans up trash at a border crossing near the Rio Grande River on May 17, 2021 in Del Rio, Texas. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
Massa said that while the administration aims to introduce “sustainable technology” at the border, the migrant crisis is also “straining limited local resources such as water and creating a sensitive environment for birds and other species.” It is destroying protected areas, reducing agricultural land and creating unsustainable power relations.” It would weaken the protection of the country’s natural resources. ”
Massa told Fox News Digital: “Not only are millions of people encouraged to travel at the hands of cartels, but the journeys across Central America to the U.S. southern border are… “It is causing devastating damage to farmland and wildlife habitat along the way.”
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Meanwhile, in January, the federal government reported encountering more than 156,000 migrants at the U.S. southern border, a slight increase from a year earlier but a decrease compared to the previous month. During December, Over 302,000 migrants encountered This is the highest number ever recorded for a single month.
December statistics show that the number of encounters in the first quarter of fiscal year 2024 was 785,000, a record high.
The White House did not respond to requests for comment.
