Demand for securing the southern border increased as record-breaking illegal migration upticks continued over the past several months. Instead of waiting around for the Biden administration, which has made it clear it has no plans to stop the border surge, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott took matters into his own hands by allowing border wall construction to continue.
“Preparations are being made for Texas’ border wall,” Gov. Abbott said. “Strategic fencing & barriers have been built to halt illegal border crossings.”
Abbott reiterated that National Guard and the Texas Department of Public Safety (TDPS) will remain deployed in added border security measures as the wall continues to be built, ensuring the safety and security of surrounding communities.
The construction of the border wall is an ongoing fight that the governor has had with the new federal administration, as Biden ardently tried to prevent any efforts related to President Donald Trump’s original plans to “build the wall.”
The Center for Immigration Studies estimated at least $3 million dollars are spent daily by President Biden himself to not build the border wall since the memorandum he signed on his first day in office. The reports find at least $2 billion have been wasted away by the federal government in these efforts since his inauguration.
Abbott recently signed a House Bill into law that provides an additional $1.8 billion in state funding for border security over the next two years. Soon thereafter, the border wall construction project was assigned to Michael Baker and Huitt-Zollars Joint Venture, who are now beginning construction efforts at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Governor of the Lone Star State spent a lot of time visiting the southern border in recent weeks since 15,000 migrants illegally crossed into Del Rio, Texas, and huddled under the international bridge.
Several thousand additional migrants have made their way into other Texan sectors, as well as into Yuma, Ariz. thus far in October. At least 60,000 more migrants are expected in a caravan led by an illegal immigrant activist seeking to flare up tensions at the southern border with BP and National Guard officials.
Former Border Patrol Chief Rodney Scott under the Biden Administration similarly suggested the border wall continued to be constructed, alluding to the fact that these requirements were “developed by seasoned Border Patrol agents based on where that infrastructure could make the biggest difference and the return on the investment in the long term,” Scott originally told Fox News.
The Biden administration has provided patchy, back-and-forth information related to these efforts, with no immediate desire to deport migrants that cross illegally as most of them remain in the U.S. either in overflow detainment facilities or under the care of NGOs.
Illegal immigration has skyrocketed with a 300 percent increase in the month of August alone compared to August 2020. Amid continued border crossings in Texas and Arizona, it is unclear whether the federal government plans to step in.