Rep. Andy Biggs introduces bill to fund US-Mexico border wall

PHOENIX — An Arizona representative introduced legislation on Tuesday that would fund construction for a U.S.-Mexico border wall in part by cutting foreign aid from the countries of immigrants who illegally enter the country.

The “Fund and Complete the Border Wall Act,” introduced by U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), would fine Mexico and other countries $2,000 for every person who is arrested after entering the U.S. illegally. Those fines would then be redirected to help fund the border wall.

In addition, the bill would also call for construction of the wall to start by December 2019, restore agents’ overtime pay to the same rate as other DHS law enforcement agencies and increase fees for travel Form I-94 from $6 to $25. Those fees would also help fund the salaries of Border Patrol agents, as well as the wall itself.

“We are acknowledging that having a wall will deter a lot of people, but people will still get over so you got to have border agents there,” Biggs said in an interview with KTAR News 92.3 FM. 

Biggs also said that it was important to increase pay for Border Patrol agents, who he claimed are leaving the profession due to pay cuts and the danger they face at the border.

“[Agents] are telling me that every group they encounter is belligerent, running, fighting,” he said. “There’s an increased hazard.”

Biggs said he hopes that the bill will get assigned to the House Judiciary Committee, of which he is a member, when representatives return in September, but he does not believe it will make it to the House floor before the midterm elections in November.

Trump is seeking $25 billion over 10 years for the border wall and other border security technology and has held out the possibility of a government shutdown if Congress doesn’t fund one of his signature campaign pledges.

The administration received $1.6 billion this year and has requested the same amount in next year’s budget, largely to build in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley.

Legal challenges to border barriers have failed over the years amid national security concerns.

The Congressional Research Service said in a report last year that it saw no legal impediments to construction if deemed appropriate for controlling the border.

KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Jeremy Foster and The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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