??nitn? ,%tatrs fematt WASHINGTON. DC 20510 April 15, 2020 The Honorable Dr. Mark T. Esper The Honorable Chad F. Wolf Secretary of Defense Acting Secretary Department of Defense Department of Homeland Security 1000 Defense Pentagon 301 7th Street, SW Washington, DC, 20301 Washington, DC. 20528 The Honorable William P. Barr Attorney General Department of Justice 950 Avenue NW Washington, DC, 20530 Dear Secretary Esper. Acting Secretary Wolf, and Attorney General Barr: While our country ?ghts to combat the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. continuing border wall construction places local communities at unnecessary risk. We request that during this crisis, all border wall construction halt immediately. Currently, the primary threat to the United States is the Spread of This deadly virus has killed thousands of our fellow citizens, sparked a global pandemic, and tremendously slowed the United States economy. Money should be invested in healthcare, small businesses, and ?ghting the spread of not used to build an ineffective and wasteful border wall that does not solve our immigration crisis or protect our homeland. We should be using all resources and funding to combat this virus and protect Americans. instead of using critical funding and resources to continue the construction of a border wall. The construction of a wall puts workers, law enforcement personnel, and border residents in immediate danger. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has outlined social distancing and quarantine policies, which further wall construction de?es. Those who are tasked with building this wall are susceptible to not only contracting COVID-19, but also risk spreading the virus to others. Continuation of construction only exacerbates the public health risks for those living at the southern border, detracting from our national efforts against ?ghting this virus. At this juncture, the priority of the United States must be to stop the spread of COVID-19. The continuation of wall construction compromises those efforts. For these reasons. we ask that you take all steps necessary to ensure that border communities are protected from the unnecessary risk of infection during this pandemic and utilize critical resources to combat the spread of Thank you for your consideration of our request. Martin Heinrich Martin Heinrich United States Senator ls/ Richard J. Durbin Richard J. Durbin United States SenatOr ls/ Edward J. Markey Edward J. Markey United States Senator Is! Jack Reed Jack Reed United States Senator ls/ Mazie K. Hirono Mazie K. Hirono United States Senator Kamala D. Harris Kamala D. Harris United States Senator Is/ Thomas R. Carper Tom Carper United States Senator ls/ Kristen Gillibrand Kristen Gillibrand United States Senator Sheldon Whitehouse Sheldon Whitehouse United States Senator Sincerely, Charles E. Schumer Charles E. Schumer United States Senator ls/ Tom Udall Tom Udall United States Senator Richard Blumenthal Richard Blumenthal United States Senator ls/ Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth Warren United States Senator ls/ Patrick Leahy Patrick Leahy United States Senator Is! Cory A. Booker Cory A. Booker United States Senator ls/ Tammy Baldwin Tammy Baldwin United States Senator ls/ Chris Van Hollen Chris Van Hollen United States Senator ls/ Christopher A. Coons Christopher A. Coons United States Senator ls/ Ron Wvden Ron Wyden United States Senator Amv Klobuehar Amy Klobuchar United States Senator Est" Robert Menendez Robert Menendez United States Senator r'sr" Jeffrex' A. Merklew ef?ey A. Merkley United States Senator ls/ Tammy Duckworth Tammy Duckworth United States Senator Robert P. Casey, Jr. Robert P. Casey. Jr. United States Senator Isl Bernard Sanders Bernard Sanders United States Senator