He also said Texas would ask those property owners to use their land to build a state-funded wall. "In the federal government's absence, Texas is stepping up to get the job done."Ībbott said he will send a letter to Biden asking the federal government to return land the Trump administration took from private property owners in Texas to build a border wall. "The Biden administration has abandoned its responsibility to apply federal law to secure the border and to enforce the immigration laws and Texans are suffering as a consequence of that neglect by the Biden administration," he said. The League of United Latin American Citizens has threatened to sue the state as soon as Abbott finalized his plan for the border wall.Ībbott's office did not immediately respond to a question about the state's authority to build a border wall, but the two-term Republican governor has blamed President Joe Biden for the increase of migrants on the state's southern border. No Democrats or state officials from the border were present, but Abbott said local officials from border counties had urged him to take action.Ĭritics have questioned the state's authority to venture into immigration regulation, which is the purview of the federal government under the Constitution. The governor was surrounded by a slew of lawmakers for his announcement, including Patrick and Phelan - the leaders of the two chambers of the Legislature. Greg Bonnen, R- Friendswood, joined Abbott for his announcement Wednesday and signed a document allowing the transfer of the money. Dan Patrick, House Speaker Dade Phelan and the Legislature's top budget writers Sen. Lawmakers will allocate money from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice into a disaster account, which will then be moved to the Texas Facilities Commission for the border wall construction. The funds for Texas' $250 million "down payment" will come from the state budget. "My belief based upon conversations that I've already had is that the combination of state land as well as volunteer land will yield hundreds of miles to build a border wall in Texas," he said. But Trump, who is touring the border with Abbott later this month, also met fierce resistance from private property owners unwilling to allow the federal government to build on their land.Ībbott said he expected people to both donate their own money and volunteer their land for the barrier. His administration built about 450 miles of barrier, mostly in Arizona, according to The Washington Post. A commitment to building a wall along the entire U.S.-Mexico border was a hallmark of former President Donald Trump’s time in office.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |