On Saturday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott unveiled the newly-constructed sections of the state-funded Texas border wall. Abbott pulled no punches, saying Texas took this historically “unprecedented action by any state ever, for a state to build a wall on our border, to secure and safeguard the sovereignty of the United States as well as our own state.” Abbott went on to say the action was needed for one reason: because “the Biden Administration has failed to do its job as required by the Constitution — as required by laws passed by Congress — to enforce the immigration laws of the United States of America.”
NEW: Texas Governor @GregAbbott_TX officially announces the beginning of construction of the Texas border wall here in the Rio Grande Valley. It’s the first time in the history of the country a state has built its own border wall. A Texas flag flies atop the crane. @FoxNews pic.twitter.com/lTcqzr3Zez
— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) December 18, 2021
Speaking from the hard-hit area of the Rio Grande Valley, Abbott said “the consequences of Biden’s failure to do his job are staggering.” Already in 2021, more than 1.2 million people have been apprehended coming illegally across the border. Illegal immigrants “are coming not just from Mexico but through Mexico from more than 150 countries across the entire globe — including countries who are hostile to the United States of America” such as China, Iran, Syria, and Russia.
Related: Texas Building Back A Better Border Wall Because Biden and Harris Won’t
“The Biden Administration is not doing enough to respond to” these illegal activities, Abbott said. Not only do illegal immigrants come through our borders, but trafficking victims, narcotics, and firearms are brought in as well. Enormous amounts of the deadly drug fentanyl continue to pour across the border. Agents have recovered enough fentanyl “to kill every man, woman, and child in Texas, California, New York, Illinois, and Florida combined.”
Across America, fentanyl overdoses are on the rise. According to a recent report, the number one cause of death for Americans 18-45 is an overdose of fentanyl. That means more Americans in that age group die of a fentanyl overdose than die of COVID-19, suicide, car accidents, or homicide. “Joe Biden has facilitated the deaths of those people by the open border policy that he has allowed to take place here in Texas and it must be stopped,” stated Abbott.
Gangs, cartels, and other criminals profit while innocent Americans suffer the deadly consequences of Biden’s lax illegal immigration policies. “People in this region know about the devasting deaths and tragedy of a 59-year-old woman and her 22-year-old daughter … where a smuggler t-boned them in a car wreck and killed them,” said Abbott. “There are deadly consequences because of Biden’s open border policies.” The state of Texas is taking action against those deadly consequences through multiple avenues, including the unprecedented effort to build the border wall. The criminal elements flowing across the border impact not just Texas, but the entire country.
Six months ago, I directed the Texas Facilities Commission to begin building our own border wall.
Tomorrow, I will be in Rio Grande City to debut its construction.
Texas continues to take unprecedented actions to secure the border. pic.twitter.com/p6jEKTG7ZH
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) December 18, 2021
Thanks to Abbott and the Texas legislature, illegal immigrants coming over the border in Texas “will not be turned over to the federal authorities for release” but will now be charged with criminal trespassing and then sent to jail. As with former President Trump’s border security plan, the wall is just one component of the $3 billion effort. The Texas wall will also be equipped with electronic detection devices, barrier deterrents, razor wire, and boat barricades, and be manned by 10,000 agents from the National Guard and the Texas Department of Public Safety. With these additional components and a multi-pronged strategy, Abbott believes Texas “will be able to quickly interdict” to do the federal government’s job by stopping “anything and anybody trying to get through.”
Many Americans have expressed a desire to be a part of the effort to secure Texas’ southern border, so Abbott also announced the creation of borderwall.texas.gov, “where you can help secure the sovereignty and safety of this country by helping Texas build more of this border wall.” As of Dec. 13, the site has raised $54,423,681.
WATCH Abbott’s press conference here:
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