Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) says he will soon unveil a plan for his state to build its own wall along its southern border with Mexico, as he blasted the Biden administration and federal lawmakers for inaction on the U.S.’s immigration crisis.
What are the details?
KVIA-TV reported that during a “Border Security Summit” with Texas law enforcement, mayors and county judges on Thursday, Abbott told the group, “I will announce next week the plan for the state of Texas to begin building the border wall in the state of Texas.”
“The border crisis is no laughing matter,” he continued, adding, “It’s not a tourism site for members of Congress to visit and then return to D.C. and do nothing.”
According to The Washington Examiner, Abbott said that “change is needed” as Texas communities continue to struggle with the ongoing surge of illegal immigrants pouring into the U.S. via Mexico.
“One thing we know and that is a border crisis is plaguing the farmers, the ranchers, the residents of the entire border region,” he told the summit. “Your law enforcement officers, they are having to redirect their resources to deal with the border as opposed to deal what they normally deal with which is keeping your communities safe every day.”
The Republican governor also tore into the Biden administration for their handling of the border crisis, saying the White House’s “open border policies” are to blame.
In an interview with Breitbart ahead of the summit on Thursday, Abbott said, “The influx across the border is out of control, and the Biden Administration has shown that is not going to step up and do its job, and amidst reports of even more people coming in across the border, we know we have to step up and do more.”
The outlet reported that construction of border barriers “will immediately begin” in places like Del Rio, where the summit was held.
“The reason why we are here is because of the massive increase,” the governor said at the gathering, noting that border crossings used to be highly “concentrated in the Rio Grande Valley.”
“Now, you know we’re upstream from the Rio Grande Valley in the Del Rio Sector and the Del Rio sector is suffering from some of the largest increases.”
Abbott also revealed that he will issue a new disaster declaration next week in order to form an enhanced security plan. He pointed out that he has already approved a billion dollars in state funding dedicated to securing his state’s southern border.