Biden’s desire to stop border wall could be costly and arduous

Customs and Border Protection and Biden’s team have started transition talks, although there have not yet been talks between the two over the wall, CNN has learned. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which provides leadership and oversight of border projects, and military officials are expected to meet with the transition next week, a U.S. official told CNN.

Biden’s hope to end building the wall may not be cheap

There are costs incurred before construction begins, such as planning costs, land acquisitions, and expenses for pre-positioning manufacturing and equipment. If the contracts are terminated, it may also be necessary to pay the costs associated with the clean-up, demobilization and possibly restoration of the land for safety and environmental reasons.

The government has long had the power to terminate contracts, but it comes at a cost, market experts say. “Contractors will expect favorable settlements. The last thing the government wants is to have a long, long and difficult negotiation with a contractor who claims to be faultless,” said Charles Tiefer, professor of public procurement law at the University of Baltimore. .

Of the 46 border fence infrastructure projects that the corps is executing to use Pentagon and DHS funds, 37 projects are ongoing, 8 projects are completed, and 1 project is on hold pending release. resolution of a protest, said Raini W. Brunson, a spokesperson for the US Army Corps of Engineers.

Typically, the termination clause allows the government to exercise its right to terminate the contract for its convenience. However, if it is terminated for convenience, the contractor has the right to submit a claim for costs. termination settlement, ”Brunson said.

The possibility of terminating for “convenience” reasons is wide, and the government has a lot of discretion, said Kara Sacilotto, partner in public procurement practice at the firm Wiley Rein. Tiefer echoed this, adding that the government also has the option of partially terminating a contract, meaning that part of a project could continue, while another part is shut down.

Costs will ultimately depend on the size of the contract and the part of the project completed so far.

Democrat Representative Henry Cuellar of Texas argued that in the long run the cost will be pale compared to the “billions of dollars that will be wasted on a 14th century solution,” arguing that the funds will instead be used for technology and staff.

Cuellar told CNN he plans to send a letter to Biden, as well as other lawmakers, urging his team to immediately prioritize ending the declaration of national emergency, dismissing lawsuits for seizure of land, termination of wall contracts and cancellation of environmental exemptions.

Questions about what happens to the acquired real estate and who takes care of the maintenance as some barriers were built with DHS money and others were funded by the Department of Defense, also remain, according to the American official. The focus is now on meeting the administration’s target of 450 miles by the end of the year, the official added.

“CBP is continuing to build a new border wall system with funding that was received in FY2020,” a spokesperson for the agency told CNN in a statement, asserting that border barriers “have proven to be an essential element in gaining operational control of the border and enabling greater efficiency of the workforce.

A CBP official told CNN that the agency expects sections of the wall that are already under construction to be completed. “It does not make sense to cancel” ongoing projects, the official said. “What is in the process will stay the course, and then they will start removing anything beyond that in the future,” the official said, predicting how the new administration will handle the wall.

There will be “different scenarios” based on the status of construction in certain areas of the border, but there is “obviously no appetite” in the new administration to continue pushing for the border wall, the border wall added. responsible.

Brandon Judd, chairman of the National Border Patrol Council, which endorsed Trump, said “it would be a huge mistake” for the Biden administration to stop construction halfway.

“If (Biden) wants border security, then he should continue to finish the wall in the places where the Trump administration has built,” he said, pleading for construction to continue in ” strategic locations “which he says will help officers secure the border.

The speed with which the incoming administration acts is imperative, argued Ricky Garza, an attorney with the Texas Civil Rights Project, a legal advocacy group, which currently represents land seizure cases by landowners. “What we have seen, unfortunately, is almost all, if not all, the fence started under Bush continued under Obama,” he said, referring to legislation signed under President George W. Bush which allowed 700 miles of double layer fence on the border.

“The clients are extremely anxious right now,” Garza said, referring to landowners whose property is in danger of being taken. “I think it’s difficult because we understand the larger reality that all of this might go away, but at the same time in each individual case there is no recognition in the government’s court filings that things might change. It’s a priority. “

Even if Biden stops construction, there are over 400 miles of an 18- to 30-foot-high barrier along the southwest border to maintain.

“The real expense, even after the wall is built, is on maintenance,” said Gil Kerlikowske, a former CBP commissioner who served in the Obama administration with Biden’s selection for Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. “It’s a huge expense,” he said, adding that during his time the agency spent millions of dollars repairing barriers in the event of flooding or passage of traffickers for example.

“It is the long-term maintenance cost that this administration really failed to mention to the taxpaying public,” Kerlikowske said of the Trump administration.