US ally Poland building barrier on Russian border undeterred by Biden aversion to border walls

President Biden canceled funding for construction of Donald Trump's "unwarranted" southern border wall as one of his early priorities after taking office, but Poland — a key Biden partner in the coalition to oust Russia from Ukraine — takes a decidedly different view of the security value of walls, announcing this week that it had begun building an electronic barrier at its land border with Russia's Kaliningrad. 

Polish Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski said Tuesday there would be "full monitoring at the border with Russia" during a news conference.

Polish Consul General in New York Adrian Kubicki was asked about the value of the new barrier in an interview Tuesday on the John Solomon Reports podcast. "We are right now guardians of Western Civilization's safety, the safety of the citizens not only of Poland but also of other European countries and also America," he said. "Implementing any technology that is reliable and helps to enhance this security has something of a crucial importance."

Last year, Poland built a wall on its border with Belarus, an ally of Russia, to stop the massive illegal inflow of migrants.

Illegal immigration has soared since Joe Biden became president. Customs and Border Patrol agents reported encountering more than 2.7 million migrants nationwide in fiscal year 2022, mostly along the southern border.

In response to the Biden administration's perceived indifference to the border crisis, Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott declared an invasion and invoked special powers granted under the U.S. and Texas constitutions.

"I invoked the Invasion Clauses of the U.S. & Texas Constitutions to fully authorize Texas to take unprecedented measures to defend our state against an invasion," Abbott tweeted in his announcement in November. "I'm using that constitutional authority, & other authorization & Executive Orders to keep our state & country safe."

Kaminski told John Solomon that the wall Poland is building will send a strong message to Russia. 

"We're not afraid of Moscow, and the message that we were sending to Moscow is that we will not hesitate," said the Polish emissary. "We will not allow ourselves to be blackmailed or threatened. Threats will only fuel us in terms of further enhancing our security and taking bold steps to protect ourselves."