Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Pledges to Build Wall along Southern Border

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott announced that Texas would begin building a wall along the southern border.

What We Know:

• Abbott announced this order and various other initiatives at the Border Security Summit on Thursday. He stated that they would be using $1 billion in state funds, and he needs the federal government’s approval for landowners and a border security task force. Abbott plans on resuming the wall initially started by former President Donald Trump at the U.S.-Mexico border. After the summit, Laredo Mayor Pete Saenz claimed that Abbott’s wall idea seemed more like a “border fence” than a wall, stating, “[Abbott] said ‘fence’ two or three times.”
• Abbott plans to build his wall on a majority of the land largely owned by federal and state governments, with a small percentage also being privately owned. Trump ran into issues with this same problem when trying to complete his wall during his presidency. Building the wall was one of Trump’s key campaign promises, and he told voters that Mexico would pay for the wall. Mexico ended up not paying for any of the walls, and the U.S. spent close to $15 billion on it. Trump managed to build about 450 miles of the wall on the border that lined Arizona.
• Abbott has criticized President Joe Biden’s administration for the border crisis, as there has been an increase of migrants crossing the border. He disagreed with Biden ending the “Remain in Mexico” policy that Trump established with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
• This policy prevented a large increase of migrants into the U.S. because before they could cross into the country, they had to file for asylum in Mexico. In April, Biden’s administration stated that any further construction on the wall would be canceled.

“[Trump] began building the border wall and now suddenly all of that disappeared…it has led to a dramatic increase in the number of people crossing the border, but it’s not just unaccompanied minors, it’s people causing great damage and harm to the residents right here in Del Rio up and down the entire border,” said Abbott.

• Due to the increase of migrants, Abbott has declared that the Texas Department of Public Safety will begin implementing federal and state criminal laws such as criminal trespassing, smuggling, and human trafficking. According to CNN, Abbott is also asking for the state’s Health and Human Services Commission to cease “state licensure of ‘any child care facility that shelters or detains unlawful immigrants’ under a contract with the federal government.” Abbott plans to arrest those who illegally cross the border, but local law enforcement, prosecutors, judges, and mayors must be on board for it to happen.

There hasn’t been any word on if Abbott is allowed to start building a wall. However, he refuses for the state to “sit idly by as this crisis grows.” He has stated that only single adults will be arrested at the border, claiming that families will not fall under his new policy. Abbott plans on starting his new arrest policy next week.