Texas Legislature sends $1.54 billion bill for border barriers to Gov. Abbott
Senate Bill 3 would also appropriate $40 million for state troopers to patrol Colony Ridge, a housing development outside of Houston, and allow the state to send money to local jurisdictions to offset the cost of enforcing another immigration-related bill.
Fighting between legislative leaders imperils Texas border security bills
The governor, lieutenant governor and House speaker generally agree on building more border barriers and making illegal border crossings a state crime. But disagreements over strategy and personal animosity mean those measures face long odds this special legislative session.
State Senate approves bill to spend $1.5 billion for border walls, more policing of Liberty County development
Along with the money to build more border barriers, Senate Bill 6 would devote $49 million to beef up law enforcement of the Colony Ridge development thatโs become a target of far-right media.
Gov. Greg Abbottโs plan to bus migrants to Washington, D.C., will be voluntary
Abbott said heโs responding to the Biden administration announcement that it will lift a pandemic-era emergency health order that allowed immigration authorities to turn away migrants at the border, even those seeking asylum.
Dan Patrick warns Democrats are allowing in immigrants for โsilent revolution,โ mirroring language of far-right extremists
Patrickโs comments mirrored a far-right theory that says political elites are replacing white populations through mass migration and demographic changes. He called the increase of migrants at the border an โinvasion.โ
Texas to spend $25 million on 2-mile concrete barrier amid Gov. Greg Abbottโs push for a state-funded border wall
The barrier in Eagle Pass is the first glimpse into how much a state-funded border wall could cost. But Abbottโs office says itโs a โconcrete barrierโ that is separate from his border wall push.
Justice Department sues Texas over Gov. Greg Abbottโs order for law enforcement to pull over vehicles with migrants
On Wednesday, Abbott issued the order, allowing Texas Department of Public Safety troopers to reroute civilian vehicles back to their origin point or a port of entry, or seize the vehicles, if police suspect the driver is transporting migrants who have COVID-19.
U.S. attorney general blasts Texas Gov. Greg Abbottโs latest border directive and threatens a legal battle
One day after Abbott told state troopers to pull over vehicles with migrants suspected of having COVID-19, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said the governor's order violated federal law.
Gov. Greg Abbott promised โtransparency and accountabilityโ for border wall donations. But donors donโt have to use real names.
Despite promises from Abbott that transparency in the crowdfunding process for the border wall would be paramount, donor information released to The Texas Tribune for the first week of collections was bereft of any way to verify the identities of the majority of the donors.
Gov. Greg Abbott says more apprehensions, drug seizures justify a border wall. Advocates say he's misrepresenting the numbers.
The governor said Texas needs to build a border wall to reduce migrant apprehensions and fentanyl seizures. But immigration and drug treatment experts say Abbott's oversimplifying the issue.
Gov. Greg Abbott wants to build a border wall. South Texas landowners are divided over whether they want it.
Some landowners who sued the Trump administration say they aren't "just going to roll over and give up" now that Abbott has taken on a border wall project. Others say a wall is needed to protect people and property on the border.
Gov. Greg Abbott is using a disaster declaration to help fund a border wall. Democrats say itโs an overreach of executive powers.
The disaster declarations give the governor broad power to suspend state laws and regulations that hinder a jurisdictionโs recovery from a disaster and to allow the use of available resources to respond to the disaster.
President Trumpโs visit to border attracts Rio Grande Valley residents, lawmaker
RIO GRANDE VALLEY, Texas โ As President Donald Trump celebrated the border wall construction, residents from across the Rio Grande Valley came out to voice their opinion. โI support him and I think heโs a really good president,โ said Raul Garcia, a President Donald Trump supporter. President Trump supporters gathered Tuesday morning in McAllen, Texas. Among the crowd was Rio Grande Valley resident Elisa Rivera, who brought her daughters to witness President Trumpโs arrival. AdFormer San Antonio Mayor And HUD Secretary Julian Castro was also in attendance, and said the state needs to invest more in the Rio Grande Valley.
Social media captures President Donald Trumpโs visit to the Texas border
Nydia Canas attaches a flag to her vehicle in supporter of President Donald Trump in anticipation of his visit to the U.S.-Mexico border, Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2021, in Harlingen, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)HARLINGEN, Texas โ President Donald Trump traveled to South Texas on Tuesday to tout his administrationโs border wall accomplishments. RELATED: President Donald Trumpโs relationship with the Texas borderOfficials in Alamo indicated Tuesday morning they did not have any prior knowledge of the presidentโs visit and did not have an itinerary. pic.twitter.com/rTKFjcq5si โ James Dobbins (@james_dobbins_) January 12, 2021More people gathering in McAllen and waiting for President Donald Trumpโs arrival. @ksatnews pic.twitter.com/pMjRPDzXjW โ KSAT Tiffany Huertas (@KSAT_Tiffany) January 12, 2021Several President Donald Trump supporters gathering near McAllen International Airport.
President Donald Trumpโs relationship with the Texas border
(AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)Throughout his four years in the Oval Office, President Donald Trumpโs relationship with the Texas-Mexico border has been fraught with frustration, confusion, some successes. It was essential to catapulting him to the top of the GOP ticket, and the centerpiece of his illegal immigration platform was Trumpโs border wall. Before the president exits office, the administration is looking to award more border wall contracts and the Dept. The Associated Press reported that Crusius posted a racist screed online that featured similarities to Trumpโs divisive and inflammatory statements on illegal immigration, but Crusius said his personal views predated Trumpโs public stances on illegal immigration. AdREAD MORE:What to know about President Trumpโs visit to the Texas border Tuesday
City of Alamo officials say they were not contacted about President Donald Trumpโs visit
President Donald Trump speaks to the media before boarding Air Force One, at Andrews Air Force Base, Md. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)Hours before President Donald Trump is expected to land in the Rio Grande Valley to celebrate the construction of the border wall, officials in the city where heโs speaking say they have almost no details about his visit. Preparations are underway for President Trump's visit in the Rio Grande Valley. As it went unpaid, city officials added $99,000 in late fees, according to the Texas Tribune. As the president raised money in an attempt to overturn the presidential election, the city went unpaid.
President Trump visits the Texas border
President Donald Trump gestures as he steps off Air Force One upon arrival at Valley International Airport, Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2021, in Harlingen, Texas. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)President Donald Trump is visiting Texas on Tuesday in the waning days of his presidency as a historic second impeachment looms around the corner. RELATED: President Trump is not visiting the Alamo Tuesday. Border wall was Trumpโs cornerstone platform in 2016 campaignTrumpโs 2016 campaign focused sharply on building a border wall that Mexico would pay for. According to the administration, his trip on Tuesday is to mark the completion of 400 miles of border wall constructed during his presidency.
President Trump is not visiting the Alamo Tuesday. Heโs scheduled in border town of Alamo, Texas.
FILE - In this Dec. 12, 2020, file photo President Donald Trump walks on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington before boarding Marine One. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)ALAMO, Texas โ President Trump is slated to visit South Texas early this week, but not San Antonio. With the news of his scheduled trip to South Texas beginning to circulate Saturday, some confusion surrounds the precise location of his scheduled trip. President Trump is planning to visit Alamo, Texas, a town near the border in the Rio Grande Valley on Tuesday. Law enforcement near Alamo, Texas, have already begun preparing for the presidentโs visit at the Valley International Airport, according to KVEO-TV.
Report: No Border Wall Coalition, Trump Train organize events same day in Laredo, avoid conflict
LAREDO, Texas โ Organizers and veterans helped retouch a โDefund the Wallโ street mural in Laredo on the same day a car parade of Trump supporters were scheduled to pass over it. Still, both events went on without issue after the Trump car parade was rerouted in an effort to avoid any physical conflict, according to a report from the Laredo Morning Times Online. The โTrump Train,โ a group of President Trump supporters, organized the parade of an estimated 300 participants, according to the Laredo Morning Times. Veterans United to Stop The Wall โ a new wing of the coalition made up of Laredo veterans โ collaborated with the League of United Latin American Citizens and city departments for weeks to secure the permit, according to the No Border Wall Coalition. According to a press release by the No Border Wall Coalition, their goal โ aside from the mural โ is to redirect the $275 million in wall funding toward social needs.
This private border wall was already at risk of falling down if not fixed. A hurricane made things worse.
The damage comes at the start of what is projected to be an active hurricane season, which runs through Nov. 30. Erosion along the privately funded border wall on the banks of the Rio Grande in Mission has accelerated due to Hurricane ... The privately built border fence is the subject of a lawsuit brought by the federal government and the National Butterfly Center. In 2010, Hurricane Alex caused widespread damage along the banks of the river, including at the National Butterfly Center, just upriver from Fisherโs fence. โWe said it was too close to the water, erosion would be an issue, the location made no sense,โ Patrick said.
Rio Grande Valley getting its first new border wall under Trump administration
DONNA, Texas โ One of the nationโs first new sections of the border wall, not a replacement, is being built near Donna and will be unlike existing structures that are more than a decade old. โThe new levee wall system is much better,โ said Jason Montemayor, U.S. Border Patrol special operations supervisor with the Rio Grande Valley sectorโs wall team. โThey will not want to conduct business here in the Rio Grande Valley sector," he said. However, Scott Nicol, with the Lower Rio Grande Valley chapter of the Sierra Club and a longtime opponent of border walls, said what hasnโt changed is that many property owners continue to fight eminent domain. He said the fact that the disputes over border walls have persisted over the years โtells me people just donโt understand what walls do.โFor those pushing for more border walls, โItโs strictly a political issue for them,โ Nicol said.
Erosion, flooding concerns raised over privately funded border wall in South Texas
Anzaldua said he predicts that if the Rio Grande has major floods, whatโs left of the adjacent riverbank, possibly the wall itself, and even part of his property, will be swept downriver. โItโs just a matter of time.โBrian Kolfage, who raised $25 million in GoFundMe donations for the We Build the Wall project, said heโs โ100% confidentโ that wonโt happen. He said the riverbank has been grated at a gradual downward slope that will have special sod planted to help prevent erosion. He said thatโs also why the new wall wonโt have a metal plate at the top as an โanti-climb feature," because it could act as a sail in the wind, knocking down the structure. But as for the Anzaldua familyโs concerns, Anzaldua said, โWe donโt have the money to fight these people until they do the damage.โ
โLetโs do itโ: Border landowner supports US-Mexico wall
STARR COUNTY, Texas โ Ruperto Escobar is the first to admit his stance on the border wall is controversial and unpopular. Escobar admits he doesn't believe a border wall will end illegal activity but he's hopeful it'll slow it down. That barrier is going to slow them down enough to where our (Border Patrol) agents can catch them a lot easier," Escobar said. AdIf a wall isn't built, Escobar said he and his neighbors will continue to have problems with people trespassing on their property. Escobar said surveyors have come out to his land to see if a border wall is possible on his property.
Historic border chapel fights as president demands border wall
MISSION, Texas โ The La Lomita chapel has been serving the faithful on both sides of the border since 1865. He's been preaching and delivering God's message for over 25 years at Our Lady Of Guadalupe Catholic Church, while also spending much of his time visiting the quaint and historic South Texas Chapel. The fear now is that the chapel may find itself isolated between President Donald Trump's border wall and Mexico. Snipes admits not everyone crossing over is doing so with good intentions, but he doesn't think a wall would slow them down. "If you could tell me that this wall could stop (ill-intentioned immigrants), I'd still say, 'Well, that's a damn shame,'" Snipes said.
PICS: El Paso Border Patrol gives tour of border wall near Ciudad Juarรฉz
(3:50 p.m.) The U.S. Border Patrol in El Paso gave KSAT a tour on the south end side of the border wall, steps away from Ciudad Juarรฉz, Mexico. Itโs right there too but much smaller than what most people in Rio Grande Valley are used to seeing. (11:02 p.m.) Before KSAT travels six hours west from El Paso, Texas, to Nogales, Arizona, the U.S. Border Patrol's West Texas Sector shared information regarding its region. Agent Joe Romero, a spokesman for the Border Patrol, said West Texas agents patrol the largest border metroplex in the nation of more than 260 miles. Romero said the sector has to deal with both the El Paso and Ciudad Juarรฉz communities, which have a combined population of nearly 3 million people.