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WASHINGTON—When he was campaigning for president, Joe Biden pledged that “not another foot” of border wall would be built on his watch. But this week, his administration announced plans to do just that.
In a public notice posted Wednesday, the Department of Homeland Security outlined its intent to build up to 20 new miles of Trump administration-era border barriers in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, one of the busiest crossing spots for migrants attempting to enter the U.S. 
The decision comes as Republicans nearly shut down the federal government over new border-security measures, including resuming construction of former President Donald Trump’s wall project.
“There is presently an acute and immediate need to construct physical barriers and roads in the vicinity of the border of the United States in order to prevent unlawful entries into the United States in the project areas,” the notice reads. It added that the administration will waive federal, state and local laws that protect water, air and endangered species to speed up the construction. 
The about-face by the administration—which halted all border-wall construction on the first day of Biden’s presidency—shows its increasing desperation to tamp down illegal border crossings, which have surpassed two million for each of the last two years.
In addition to intense criticism from Republicans, who have made the border a key issue in the 2024 presidential campaign, Democratic mayors and governors have also pleaded with the federal government to take action to slow the flows of migrants coming to their cities and requesting temporary shelter.

The area where the administration plans to construct the new barrier, in Starr County, Texas, was chosen by Congress in 2019 when lawmakers allotted $1.375 billion toward border wall construction in the Rio Grande Valley. 
The Trump administration used much of those funds, though it ran into roadblocks in Starr County. The Biden administration’s proposed path of the border wall there cuts through a wildlife refuge and numerous private properties, which the government must either buy or seize in court. The Trump administration started that process but ran out of time.
In a statement from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which will oversee the new wall construction, a spokeswoman said the Biden administration is forced to move ahead because it is required to spend the remaining funds, approximately $190 million, as Congress intended.
The agency didn’t respond to a follow-up question about why, if it was required to complete the section of border wall, it hadn’t started sooner.