TEXAS — Gov. Greg Abbott and former President Donald Trump stood before an unfinished wall Wednesday along the Texas-Mexico border. They joined forces to amplify claims of chaos at the border since President Joe Biden took office.
Gov. Abbott, who is vying for a third term, wants to fulfill Trump’s campaign promise of building a border wall. The Biden administration suspended the project.
“We had the border so closed, the best ever, and now it's coming through at levels that they've never seen before,” Trump said during remarks in Pharr, Texas, in the Rio Grande Valley.
Two weeks ago, Abbott announced Texas will continue the wall, starting with $250 million shifted from the state prison budget. Abbott and other Texas Republicans continue to blame the Biden administration for the rise in border crossings. Abbott says he’s stepping up because he thinks the federal government is falling short.
“Our fellow Texans and our fellow Americans, they're being threatened every single day. I've talked to people from in this region all the way up to Del Rio. Their lives and their property and their families are being overrun,” Abbott said.
In order to initially fund wall construction, Gov. Abbott declared a disaster in 28 counties, down from 34 because some local officials in the Valley didn’t want to be a part of it.
“It makes us question the governor's priorities when there are other, more urgent issues, happening in Texas, such as our power grid,” said Dani Marrero Hi, the director of advocacy for La Unión del Pueblo Entero. “When former President Donald Trump was building the wall, it caused disastrous damage and so much stress for border families whose homes were going to be condemned and taken away.”
Trump and Abbott also attended a security briefing at DPS Headquarters in Weslaco with law enforcement officials. At Abbott’s direction, state troopers have begun arresting migrants for trespassing, an approach local activists believe won't change the environment.
“There's no doubt that something needs to be done, to make sure that people seeking safety in the country can do so in a safe and fair way. But criminalizing them, incarcerating them, or building the wall is not the kind of solutions, you know, political solutions that we need,” Marrero Hi said.
The Abbott-Trump trip also comes as the governor is seeking a third term and facing at least one primary challenge from the right. The issue of border security and building a wall remain popular with his Republican base. But even the newly-elected Republican Mayor of McAllen says building the wall is going to be tough.
“I think it’s going to be difficult. I think it’s going to be a difficult proposition. If we’re pitting the federal government vs. the state, I think it’s going to get tied up in courts,” said Mayor Javier Villalobos. “I applaud his efforts though, because I do think we need to address immigration in our country.”
“I hope that what the governor is doing, what President Trump is doing, at least opens up the eyes of Congress, the president and senators in Washington,” he added. “I think it’s very important. We always talk about comprehensive immigration reform and I think, you know what, even if we have to piecemeal it, we have to do what we have to do and I hope it opens up the eyes.”
Gov. Abbott is also crowdsourcing to help pay for the border wall. It remains unclear where exactly more barriers will be built, but it could be on state-owned land. Abbott is also asking private landowners to give up their properties. Civil rights organizations are exploring their legal options.