Politics

$100 million in border wall materials rusting away in Texas: report

More than a $100 million worth of taxpayer-paid border wall materials have been discarded and are going to waste in Texas after President Biden ended construction of the barrier when he entered the White House in January and canceled contracts for its construction, according to a report. 

A Fox News drone captured footage of around 10,000 steel panels — enough to build 100 miles of wall — rusting in the sun in Pharr, Texas, since January. 

Only about 14 miles of the wall was built before former President Donald Trump left office. 

“Keep in mind, taxpayers have already paid for this,” ​reporter Bill ​Melugin said on “America’s Newsroom.”

“It’s bought and paid for and nothing is happening with it​,” he added. 

A border wall construction site is seen mostly abandoned after President Joe Biden signed an executive order halting construction. REUTERS/Paul Ratje

​​The news crew also took video of where the wall abruptly ends in La Joya, Texas, ​leaving an open space that illegal immigrants can easily walk across.

“Basically, it’s useless,” ​Melugin said. “We watch these migrants just walk around it all the time. It’s not doing anything, and the border agents out here are having to run around left and right as runners are constantly coming through.”​

Former Border Patrol chief Rodney Scott said the administration is paying about $5 million a day for border contracts that have been put on hold. ​

President Joe Biden canceled contracts for border wall construction after he took office. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

“Many of those projects today are just still on hold, so we’re paying contractors,” Scott told Fox News.

“For a while, it was almost five million a day between DoD and DHS to not build the border wall​,” he said, referring to the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security. ​​

Melguin said Border Patrol agents are frustrated because they say “they really need the wall here.”​

Only about 14 miles of the wall was built prior to President Joe Biden taking office. REUTERS/Paul Ratje

“As we’ve heard the Border Patrol chief say, so far this year more than 400,000 known [migrants] got away. Those are the only ones we know about,” he said. 

​Biden ended the wall construction after he took office along with a number of Trump’s immigration policies that led to a massive surge of migrants at the US border over the summer. 

Trump completed around 453 miles of new and replacement wall, with another 300 miles planned or under construction.