Biden is facing high hopes, tough choices on border wall
Authorities pass a border wall construction site, in Mission, Texas, Monday, Nov. 16, 2020. President-elect Joe Biden will face immediate pressure to fulfill his pledge to stop border wall construction. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)LOS EBANOS, Texas โ The U.S. government has been trying to take Pamela Rivas' land for a border wall since before Joe Biden was vice president. This is my inheritance from my family.โBiden faces immediate pressure when he enters the White House in January to fulfill a pledge to stop border wall construction. He pledged in August to build โnot another footโ of border wall and said he would โwithdraw the lawsuits."
Trump's show of federal force sparking alarm in cities
The Justice Department doesnt have the manpower to surge agents to high-crime areas, so it is borrowing from Homeland Security. Throughout his presidency, Trump has leaned on Homeland Security to carry out his political objectives, including cracking down on illegal immigration and slowing legal immigration applications. Critics say the federal forces have stoked tensions, creating new images of violence that could lead frightened viewers to vote for Trump. Homeland Security first jumped into the federal response to the Floyd protests in May as some demonstrations erupted into sporadic violence around the country. But effort shifted into high gear over the July Fourth weekend as Homeland Security agents and officers from at least a half a dozen components of the sprawling organization were arriving in Portland.