(The Center Square) – Texas is continuing to expand razor wire barriers and building its own wall along its border with Mexico through Gov. Greg Abbott’s border security mission, Operation Lone Star.
The Texas National Guard has tripled erecting razor wire barriers along the Texas-Mexico border since soldiers began expanding them last year in key illegal border crossing points on state land.
“Texas is tripling razor wire barriers to STOP illegal immigrants from crossing the border,” Abbott said. “As Joe Biden and Kamala Harris turn a blind eye to the border crisis, Texas will deploy every tool and strategy to deny illegal crossings into our state.”
The governor also responded to social media posts about barriers being put up outside of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, saying, “Democrats want walls to protect them at their convention. But they are AGAINST walls to protect Americans from an unprecedented onslaught of more than 11 million illegal immigrants, including criminals and terrorists.
“An onslaught created by Kamala. Hypocrites.”
Texas has been expanding border wall construction every day, most recently installing more panels in Zapata and Val Verde counties last week.
“Texas is the first and ONLY state in U.S. history to build our own border wall,” Abbott said. “Texas continues to take historic action to protect Texans and Americans.”
By doing so, “Texas upholds our nation’s sovereignty and defends our constitutional right to protect our border,” he added.
In June 2021, Abbott announced Texas would build its own border wall after illegal border crossers began inundating south Texas communities. Record numbers in the thousands a day began pouring through after President Joe Biden halted border wall construction and reversed many other existing border policies on his first day in office.
By October 2021, Texas and Missouri sued, arguing it was illegal to halt border wall construction that Congress allocated funds for and it was still costing taxpayers $3 million a day because of contractual obligations. By that time, Texas had sued the administration seven times over the border and immigration. Since then, Texas has sued the administration over 75 times on a range of issues.
Roughly two and a half years later, a federal court ruled in May that halting federal border wall construction was illegal. The administration didn’t appeal, handing Texas a huge win.
Other litigation between the Biden-Harris administration and Texas over border barriers is ongoing.
Last October, Texas sued after Border Patrol agents cut concertina wire barriers Texas installed on state land in Eagle Pass, Texas. Texas argued they were destroying state property and facilitating illegal immigration. Despite numerous court rulings, Texas has forged ahead building its razor wire barriers. A final ruling has yet to be issued on the case.
Two other lawsuits were filed over marine barriers Abbott ordered be installed in the Rio Grande River in Eagle Pass. Texas’ border security efforts have also been enhanced with the support of 25 governors who are sending law enforcement resources to the Texas border on rotation.
Since Abbott launched OLS in March 2021, law enforcement officers have apprehended more than 517,900 illegal border crossers and made more than 46,000 criminal arrests, with more than 39,900 felony charges reported. They’ve also seized more than 518 million lethal doses of fentanyl, enough to kill the combined populations of the United States and Mexico.
The Texas legislature allocated more than $11.6 billion to fund OLS over a four-year period, which is larger than many state’s budgets, The Center Square reported. A Texas congressman filed a bill requesting Congress to reimburse Texas for OLS costs, which has gone nowhere.
Texas’ efforts have paid off, pushing illegal entry west to New Mexico, Arizona and California, The Center Square first reported.
Regardless if the federal government reimburses Texas or not, Texas will continue to secure its border, Abbott said. He has the support of 25 governors, and according to several polls, support from the majority of Texans and Americans.
Multiple polls continue to show that voters overwhelmingly oppose Biden-Harris administration border policies, oppose illegal immigration and want troops sent to the border to secure it, The Center Square reported.