The Department of Homeland Security paid a Delaware construction company $455,000 to build a security fence around President Joe Biden’s beach home.
DHS awarded the $456,548 contract to Turnstone Holdings LLC for “PURCHASE AND INSTALLATION OF SECURITY FENCING AT 32 FARVIEW, REHOBOTH DELAWARE” — a property dubbed the “Summer White House,” according to government spending tracker USASpending.gov. The contract is set to end on Dec. 31, 2021. The United States Secret Service is listed as the awarding and funding sub-agency while DHS is listed as the primary awarding and funding agency.
The fence construction takes place amid a worsening crisis at the United States-Mexico border.
“The Biden administration has faced backlash over its action — or sometimes inaction — throughout the surge, with critics slamming the president’s decision to halt construction of the border wall, which he did as one of his first actions as president,” reports The New York Post.
According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data, 1.7 million migrants crossed into America during the 2021 fiscal year — the highest number since 1986.
The New York Times says the southern border “emerged as one of the most formidable challenges for the Biden administration” following a “year of chaos.”
“Single adults represented the largest group of those detained in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, at 1.1 million, or 64 percent of all crossers. There were also large numbers of migrant families — more than 479,000, which is about 48,000 fewer than during the last surge in family crossings in 2019,” notes The Times.
Border agents encountered over 147,000 children without a parent or guardian, surpassing the previously highest number recorded in 2008. Approximately 1,100 were still in government custody as of Oct. 22.
President Biden appointed Vice President Kamala Harris as his border czar to take the lead on immigration issues. She said on Friday that she has no plans to travel to the border but did say she plans to fly to France in November.
Biden has also not traveled to the southern border. The White House Press Secretary told Fox News’ Peter Doocy that the president “did drive through the border while he was on the campaign trail in 2008,” but could not recall any other time.
“President Biden has spent 19 weekends at home in Delaware, 10 weekends at Camp David and only nine weekends at the White House during his presidency so far,” per Fox News.
The security fence on Biden’s Delaware property is funded by the taxpayers.
