The Biden administration is devoting $1 billion in federal funding for green energy at the U.S. border. (iStock, Getty Images)
The top Republican lawmaker has repeatedly called attention to both the border crisis and environmental degradation indirectly wrought by migrants poring over the U.S.-Mexico border.
"Spending a billion dollars to build a so-called ‘environmentally friendly’ port of entry feels like a slap in the face to Americans watching our open border policies trash our beautiful public lands day in and day out," said Westerman.
ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION COULD HAVE MAJOR IMPACT ON HOUSE SEATS, ELECTORAL COLLEGE: EXPERTS
According to the GSA, the funding will support reduced overall operational emissions of federal activities at the border, development of 23 all-electric buildings, projects ensuring four land ports of entry achieve net-zero emissions, and modernization and paving projects involving embodied carbon avoidance.
For example, $200 million will be used to renovate the Bridge of the Americas port in El Paso, Texas, installing solar panels, electric vehicle chargers and other energy efficiency installations. Another $135 million will be used to make the Douglas Commercial port in Cochise County, Arizona, all-electric, and $100 million will be used to make Arizona's San Luis land port the first net-zero port of entry.
Texas officers clean up trash at a border crossing site near the Rio Grande on May 17, 2021, in Del Rio, Texas. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
Massa highlighted that, while the administration seeks to implement "sustainable technologies" at the border, the migrant crisis simultaneously strains the "limited local resources such as water, destroys sensitive environmental sanctuaries for birds and other species, reduces farmland, and creates unsustainable dynamics that weakens the conservation of the nation's natural resources."
"In addition to endangering those millions of people by encouraging them to travel at the hands of cartels, these journeys across Central America to the U.S. southern border are devastating to croplands and wildlife habitat along the way," Massa told Fox News Digital.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Meanwhile, in January, the federal government reported more than 156,000 migrant encounters at the U.S. southern border, a slight year-over-year uptick, but a decrease compared to the month prior. In December, more than 302,000 migrants were encountered crossing the border, by far the largest single-month figure ever recorded.
The December figures brought the fiscal 2024 first-quarter level to 785,000 encounters, the highest number ever recorded.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Thomas Catenacci is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.
Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more Fox News politics content.
Subscribed
You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter!
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-admin-funnels-1-billion-climate-programs-borders-amid-ongoing-migrant-crisis