SEATTLE - Nearly four years since President Joe Biden terminated all contracts that allowed the construction of the wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, the state of Texas made a big purchase this week by acquiring a 1,400-acre ranch along the Rio Grande that, according to officials, has seen a high number of reports of human trafficking and smuggling of weapons and drugs.
In one of his first acts in office, President Biden halted progress on the border wall in one of 17 executive orders he issued on his first day in office, and in April 2021, he terminated all contracts related to the project. But soon after Biden announced the "pause" at the border, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott launched funding for a state project to continue the construction of the wall.
While talking to Fox News Digital, Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham said that the Texas Facilities Commission, responsible for building the wall, requested the purchase of the 1,400-acre ranch. It is the second purchase along the border in Starr County, which encompasses more than 4,000 acres.
"They said, 'Look, it's in the main area of where we're seeing the traffic across the border. We have terrible things happening on this piece of property. The current owner is not only blocking the border wall, but she is blocking law enforcement's access to that property,'" Buckingham said. "'And to really get complete operational control of the border, we really need to control this piece of ground.' So we made her an offer. We found a way to purchase her ranch from her."
The Texas Land Commissioner said state workers have already been out at the newly-purchased property with bulldozers and she believes construction of the wall will begin soon.
The land acquired by the state of Texas is part of the Rio Grande Valley Sector. According to CBP data, 135,099 encounters of illegal immigrants were reported during Fiscal Year 2024, which ended on Sept. 30.
Texas's struggles to build the wall
Although this latest purchase is a step forward for Texas officials in their efforts to continue the border wall project, progress has been hampered by the state's struggles to secure land access.
Earlier this year, in August, Border Report revealed that a South Texas landowner sued U.S. Customs and Border Protection which tried for the second time to take his property for new border wall construction after the federal government returned it once.
Three years since Gov. Greg Abbott launched Operation Lone Star and with more than $3 billion approved for the wall project since 2021, a facilities commission spokesperson said that, as of June 14, only 33.5 miles of wall had been built.
According to a report by the Texas Tribune, steel barriers cover just 4% of the more than 800 miles identified by state officials as "in need of some kind of barrier." Texas officials are aiming to erect 100 miles by the end of 2026, at a rate of about a half-mile per week.
According to TFC officials, the earliest wall construction has cost roughly $25 million to $30 million per mile. When completed, that would amount to $20 billion to $24 billion for the entire 805-mile span seen as "in need of some kind of barrier."
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