WASHINGTON U.S. President Joe Biden said on Friday he was told he had no choice but to spend previously appropriated money on the building of new sections of a border barrier in Texas to stem the flow of migrants in the area.

"I was told that I had no choice," Biden told reporters at the White House. Biden said if Congress passes legislation to build something - whether an aircraft carrier or wall - or provide for a tax cut, he could not say he did not like it and would not pay for it.

(Reporting by Steve Holland; writing by Doina Chiacu; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)