Presidential Documents

7225 

Federal Register 

Vol. 86, No. 16 

Wednesday, January 27, 2021 

Title 3— 

The President 

Proclamation 10142 of January 20, 2021 

Termination of Emergency With Respect to the Southern Border of the United States and Redirection of Funds Diverted 

to Border Wall Construction 

By the President of the United States of America 

A Proclamation 

Like every nation, the United States has a right and a duty to secure 

its borders and protect its people against threats. But building a massive 

wall that spans the entire southern border is not a serious policy solution. 

It is a waste of money that diverts attention from genuine threats to our 

homeland security. My Administration is committed to ensuring that the 

United States has a comprehensive and humane immigration system that 

operates consistently with our Nation’s values. In furtherance of that commitment, I have determined that the declaration of a national emergency at 

our southern border in Proclamation 9844 of February 15, 2019 (Declaring 

a National Emergency Concerning the Southern Border of the United States), 

was unwarranted. It shall be the policy of my Administration that no more 

American taxpayer dollars be diverted to construct a border wall. I am 

also directing a careful review of all resources appropriated or redirected 

to construct a southern border wall. 

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States 

of America, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the 

laws of the United States of America, including section 202 of the National 

Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), hereby declare that the national 

emergency declared by Proclamation 9844, and continued on February 13, 

2020 (85 Fed. Reg. 8715), and January 15, 2021, is terminated and that 

the authorites invoked in that proclamation will no longer be used to construct a wall at southen border. I hereby futher direct as follows: 

Section 1. Pause in Construction and Obligation of Funds. (a) The Secretary 

of Defense and the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with 

the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, shall direct the appropriate officials within their respective departments to: 

(i) pause work on each construction project on the southern border wall, 

to the extent permitted by law, as soon as possible but in no case later 

than seven days from the date of this proclamation, to permit: 

(A) assessment of the legality of the funding and contracting methods 

used to construct the wall; 

(B) assessment of the administrative and contractual consequences of 

ceasing each wall construction project; and 

(C) completion and implementation of the plan developed in accordance with section 2 of this proclamation; 

(ii) pause immediately the obligation of funds related to construction 

of the southern border wall, to the extent permitted by law; and 

(iii) compile detailed information on all southern border wall construction 

contracts, the completion status of each wall construction project, and 

the funds used for wall construction since February 15, 2019, including 

directly appropriated funds and funds drawn from the Treasury Forfeiture 

Fund (31 U.S.C. 9705(g)(4)(B)), the Department of Defense Drug Interdiction 

and Counter-Drug Activities account (10 U.S.C. 284), and the Department 


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of Defense Military Construction account (pursuant to the emergency authorities in 10 U.S.C. 2808(a) and 33 U.S.C. 2293(a)). 

(b) The pause directed in subsection (a)(i) of this section shall apply 

to wall projects funded by redirected funds as well as wall projects funded 

by direct appropriations. The Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of 

Homeland Security may make an exception to the pause, however, for urgent 

measures needed to avert immediate physical dangers or where an exception 

is required to ensure that funds appropriated by the Congress fulfill their 

intended purpose. 

Sec. 2. Plan for Redirecting Funding and Repurposing Contracts. The Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Homeland Security, in coordination 

with the Secretary of the Treasury, the Attorney General, the Director of 

the Office of Management and Budget, and the heads of any other appropriate 

executive departments and agencies, and in consultation with the Assistant 

to the President for National Security Affairs, shall develop a plan for 

the redirection of funds concerning the southern border wall, as appropriate 

and consistent with applicable law. The process of developing the plan 

shall include consideration of terminating or repurposing contracts with 

private contractors engaged in wall construction, while providing for the 

expenditure of any funds that the Congress expressly appropriated for wall 

construction, consistent with their appropriated purpose. The plan shall 

be developed within 60 days from the date of this proclamation. After 

the plan is developed, the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Homeland 

Security shall take all appropriate steps to resume, modify, or terminate 

projects and to otherwise implement the plan. 

Sec. 3. Definition. Consistent with Executive Order 13767 of January 25, 

2017 (Border Security and Immigration Enforcement Improvements), for the 

purposes of this proclamation, ‘‘wall’’ means a contiguous, physical wall 

or other similarly secure, contiguous, and impassable physical barrier. 

Sec. 4. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this proclamation shall be construed 

to impair or otherwise affect: 

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, 

or the head thereof; or 

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget 

relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals. 

(b) This proclamation shall be implemented consistent with applicable 

law and subject to the availability of appropriations. 

(c) This proclamation is not intended to, and does not, create any right 

or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by 

any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, 

its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person. 


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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twentieth day 

of January, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-one, and of the 

Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and fortyfifth. 

[FR Doc. 2021–01922 

Filed 1–26–21; 8:45 am] 

Billing code 3295–F1–P 


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