FRONTERA
Phoenix (AZ), Mar 23 (EFE News) .- A group of legislators in Arizona on Tuesday presented an amendment requesting the federal Congress to resume work on the border wall in that state, despite the fact that President Joe Biden ordered federal officials to “pause work on every construction project on the southern border wall.” The initiative immediately sparked protests from pro-immigrant organizations.
Endorsed by the Committee on Natural Resources, Energy, and Water, Republican State Representative Gail Griffin leads amendment SCR1011, which calls for continued construction of the border barrier, sparking disgust from protesters who flocked to the outskirts of the Arizona Capitol, located in Phoenix.
“We are in total opposition, we know that Biden disagrees, but we want our voice to be heard as immigrants, as impacted people. We don’t want any wall, what we want to get out of the state legislature is immigration reform, ”Karina Ruiz, director of the Arizona Dream Act Coalition, told EFE.
As a candidate, Biden promised that “there will not be another foot” of the border wall built during his administration, and when he took office on January 20, he ordered work to be stopped on the Arizona border with Mexico, after the Donald Trump Administration ( 2017-2021) built nearly all of the 245 miles of wall planned for that area.
“With these actions they seek to change the conversation, because they are realizing the important advances we have made on immigration issues. The Biden government is giving us inclusive solutions, and they don’t want that, ”said Ruiz.
He mentioned that with these “legal tricks” they try to give a “setback” to the migratory achievements. “Republicans just want money for a wall, for ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) officers, for more detention centers,” he said.
“We are not going to allow you to continue with those laws. Instead of them asking for a wall, we demand that they return deported immigrants, that refugees be given speedy hearings on their cases, that they reunite unaccompanied children with their families. That must be the conversation, “he said.
In addition, he added, they request that this amendment be changed and instead demand “that they make a resolution that supports legislation such as Citizenship, an act presented by President Biden.”
“We do not need to spend money on a wall when there are people who die at the border and whose remains have not been identified, nor has there been a search for their loved ones. We demand that money be invested in the search and identification of people who were lost at the border instead of spending money on the wall, “he said.
–
