Construction worker for border project says no word on immediate pause following President Biden’s order

TUCSON, Ariz. (KOLD News 13) - President Joe Biden has delivered on one of his campaign promises, halting construction of the border wall. And in Lukeville, AZ. along the southern border, the work to build the steel wall is still in full swing.

That’s despite President Biden signing an executive order to stop the work.

A construction worker on the border project in Lukeville, who asked to remain anonynous, said his contractor still continues work despite the immediate pause.

“No, we are still working. They haven’t told us anything about the wall being paused for us,” he said.

According to the executive order, it directs private contractors to stop ‘as soon as possible’, no later than seven days.

The worker told KOLD News 13 that as of today, he and his 20 co-workers are unaware if and when they will stop. KOLD also reached out to one of the private contractors to see if it’s notified workers on the order, but has not heard back.

Local activist Laiken Jordahl with the Borderlands Center for Biological Diversity said that stopping the construction is not enough.

“We have to look at taking the wall down in certain areas, in wildlife corridors, scared tribal areas, and we have to commit to listening to the voice of border communities,” said Jordahl.

Others said that the executive order is a step in the right direction, but that the damage that’s been done needs help to be restored.

“Such as mitigation, restoration efforts, revegetate some of these hillsides and mountain sides that have been blasted,” said Dan Millis, with the Sierra Club.

The cost of keeping work crews idle while the pause is in effect was not immediately clear in President Biden’s order.

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