“Though President Joe Biden’s swath of day-one executive orders included a 60-day pause on all wall construction – and ended the national emergency that Trump declared so he could reroute billions of dollars in Pentagon funding toward the effort – the cleanup is just beginning. The new administration has inherited a much larger quagmire, involving expensive outstanding contracts, hundreds of miles of unfinished construction, and frustrated parties all along the border. Overseeing an alphabet soup of government agencies involved in the undertaking, President Biden must now figure out which option is the least bad.”

“Finishing the thing is out of the question. In his executive order, Biden said a wall spanning ‘the entire southern border is not a serious policy solution.’ But neither is a complete undoing; in July, Biden said he would not take down the wall, an endeavor that would cost billions as he fights for funding for pandemic relief. Installing a hodgepodge of ‘smart security’ technology paid for with reallocated wall cash, together with limited barrier removal in sensitive areas, appears to be the most likely outcome. But that half measure will be expensive, and will require maintenance costs for the steel that stays in the ground. Even doing nothing at all will hurt the purse thanks to contract cancellations. One Army Corps estimate from December suggests that if no more work is done and no panels are taken down, taxpayers will still eat another $700 million on ‘demobilization’ fees. Less than a month into his administration, President Biden has taken some steps toward reforming an immigration system that his predecessor made as inhospitable as possible for the migrants navigating it. Though the suspension of policies like ‘Remain in Mexico’ and a pause on hostile Immigration and Customs Enforcement tactics have had immediate effects, the steel on the border is proving a more durable policy obstacle” – New York Magazine.