On December 18, Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush and Gov. Greg Abbott made an appearance in Rio Grande City, Texas, to reveal that construction of the border wall on government-owned lands in Starr County had officially begun. Abbot had previously tweeted on December 17 that Texas had started building the wall.
A report by CBS DFW noted that the two Texas leaders made their declaration at the same place Bush announced in late November that the General Land Office (GLO) and Department of Public Safety (DPS) had come to an agreement about initiating the construction of the border wall project.
Bush gave thanks to Abbott for backing the border wall project and stressed his belief that it is a critical first step in keeping Texas’ border secure.
“We will not stop until this wall is built and our border is secure. Fighting for border security requires a team effort, and I thank Governor Abbott, the state legislature, and our other partner agencies for their support of this cause,” Bush declared.
The construction of a border wall has been one of the most controversial topics in American politics over the last five years.
The previous Trump administration made efforts to start building such a structure but was unable to fully realize it.
In light of this, the state of Texas has taken it upon itself to finish the construction of the wall.
The Texas state government’s efforts to build a wall have encountered significant pushback. Several families opposed the government’s attempts to use their private land for the wall, which led to a controversy regarding the state government’s use of eminent domain to seize land for border wall construction.
Democratic leaders heavily criticized the border wall plan. State Representative Mary Gonzalez, criticized the border wall project as a waste of money and an “abuse of executive authority.”