Biden admin. ordered to stop selling border wall materials, prove it didn't illegally redirect funds

By Samantha Kamman, Christian Post Reporter Thursday, January 02, 2025

The Biden administration must stop disposing of border wall materials before President-elect Donald Trump assumes office and provide proof that it didn’t illegally redirect money intended for the border wall construction, according to an order from a Texas federal judge.

U.S. District Judge Drew Tipton issued a court order last Friday prohibiting President Joe Biden and his administration from auctioning off any further construction materials over the next 30 days, Fox News reported last week. The Biden administration confirmed that it will agree to the court order. 

In a Truth Social post on Saturday, Trump declared the outcome “a major, crucial WIN for America” and its national security. Keeping with his campaign promises to reduce illegal immigration, the Republican president-elect vowed to rebuild the border wall upon reentering office. 

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“We have to protect our Borders and Save America,” Trump wrote. “MAGA!”

The order is the result of an effort led by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who took action in May following reports that the Biden administration was selling parts of the wall at the United States-Mexico border. 

In a Friday press release celebrating the order, Paxton explained that Tipton also ordered the Biden administration to provide documentation that it hasn't violated an injunction the state attorney general secured in May. 

According to Paxton, the injunction required the Biden administration to spend specific funds intended for the construction of the border wall after the federal government allegedly attempted to illegally redirect the money. 

“We have successfully blocked the Biden Administration from disposing of any further border wall materials before President Trump takes office,” the Texas attorney general stated. 

“This follows our major victory forcing Biden to build the wall, and we will hold his Administration accountable for illegally subverting our Nation’s border security until their very last day in power, especially where their actions are clearly motivated by a desire to thwart President-elect Trump’s immigration agenda.”

Throughout his first presidential administration, Trump promised to build a border wall to help curb the flow of illegal immigration. 

Upon taking office, Biden halted construction of most of the wall in 2021 and abolished the Trump administration’s Remain in Mexico policy, which required those seeking asylum to wait in Mexico while their cases were adjudicated. The Biden administration has been auctioning off sections of the border since at least 2023, Fox News reported. 

The Biden administration selling parts of the wall gained attention following a report from The Daily Wire early in December that featured a video provided by a U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agent. In the video, a flatbed truck is seen hauling unused border wall materials away from near Tucson, Arizona. 

U.S. Customs and Border Protection did not immediately respond to The Christian Post’s request for comment. 

“They are taking it from three stations: Nogales, Tucson, and Three Points,” the border patrol agent told The Daily Wire, estimating that half a mile per day of unused border wall is being moved. “The goal is to move all of it off the border before Christmas.”

According to the agent, the Biden administration took unused sections of the border wall that were reportedly still in good shape and transported them from the construction site. Harold Lambeth, the owner of DP Trucking LLC, confirmed to the outlet that the company is taking the sections of the border wall north. 

Pieces of the wall were taken to a government auction site, where the bidding for the panels started at $5, according to The Daily Wire. Footage of the GovPlanet auction site showed piles of border wall materials, while the auction site’s website shows a sale was held on Dec. 4, 2024.