During his State of the State Address on Monday night, Texas Governor Greg Abbott pledged to “fortify” the state’s border security efforts. The statement follows actions by the new administration of President Joe Biden to end the construction of border wall systems and related policies.
“Because of the federal government’s open border policies,” Governor Abbott said while speaking from Visionary Fiber Technologies in Lockhart, Texas, “Texas must fortify its efforts to secure our border.”
Abbott’s comments follow actions taken by President Biden on this first day in office where he called a halt to the construction of border wall systems funded by congressional authorizations during the Trump administration, as reported by Breitbart Texas. Biden also ended the Migrant Protection Program which effectively ended the Obama-Biden era catch-and-release policies regarding migrants illegally entering the U.S.
“We already have planes in the air, boots on the ground, boats on the water, and cruisers on the roads,” the Texas governor said, referring to the state’s efforts. “We must expand our efforts to crack down on human trafficking and drug smuggling in Texas.”
Texas legislators called for spending nearly $800 million on border security efforts over the next two years, the Austin American-Statesman reported. The proposed $797 million budget is a reduction of $3.5 million from the previous biennium.
Over the past three legislative sessions, Texas hired approximately 1,000 more Department of Public Safety troopers to help support efforts along the state’s southern border with Mexico. The state also built technology and training centers. National Guardsmen and airmen also participated in the Texas border security efforts.
An April 2017 report published by the National Economics Editorial placed the cost of illegal immigration to Texas taxpayers at $12.36 billion per year, or 9.6 percent of the state’s budget.
Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior news contributor for the Breitbart Texas-Border team. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Price is a regular panelist on Fox 26 Houston’s Sunday-morning talk show, What’s Your Point? Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX, Parler @BobPrice, and Facebook.
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