Texas governor announces $250M down payment on border wall

Declaring that the lives and property of Texans are at grave risk, Governor Greg Abbott authorized a quarter billion dollar down payment to complete the border wall the Trump administration started.

"We are announcing that Texas will build a border wall in our state to help secure our border," said Abbott.

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Abbott says illegal immigration has exploded by more than 1000% year-over-year resulting in millions of dollars of damage and a huge infusion of deadly drugs.

He told reporters and a gathering of Republican lawmakers that Texas must do what the Biden administration will not.

"Make no mistake, the current administration is refusing to enforce the laws on illegal immigration that are on the books," said Abbott.

Abbott says he's calling on the Governors of other states to contribute National Guard units and peace officers to the security effort. He also promised to jail any undocumented immigrants taken into custody.

"You will see that there will be a lot more people put into jail," said Abbott.

Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick called Abbott's declaration of border defense one of "the most important" actions in Texas history.

"This is a fight for our survival. We are being invaded. That term has been used in the past, but it's never been more true. We are on pace to apprehend more than two million people this year," said Patrick.

But Democrat Mike Collier, who is looking to replace Patrick as Lt. Governor, says Republicans are showboating for their base without a real plan.

"I predict we are going to waste a lot of money on a plan that's ill-conceived and will not work. Our communities are not going to be anymore safe and this is not the time for publicity stunts," said Collier.

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To underscore the need for action, Abbott reported that in the first four months of this year, DPS Troopers seized enough Fentanyl to "kill 21 million Americans".