Facing the Consequences of Biden’s Policies, Texas Seeks to Build the Wall

While the Biden administration fails to address and even denies the crisis at our border, states are struggling as they fight to deal with the consequences.

President Biden halted construction of the border wall on his first day in office, the first of countless disastrous policies which have led us to the present crisis. President Trump began new construction on the border wall in 2017 through Executive Order 13767, ultimately completing 453 miles of new fencing along the southern border by the end of 2020. Ending border wall construction not only invites illegal immigration, but it also forfeits millions in American taxpayer dollars that are already awarded to contractors.

According to border agents, Biden’s construction halt “built roads for the cartels.” Prior to the halt, contractors had built high-speed roads for border agents as a part of the border wall system. However, the actual wall had not been built yet in many of these new areas, thus creating a smugglers’ highway.

Actions like these, along with the many others made by the Biden administration to render immigration law meaningless, are forcing states to take matters into their own hands.

Texas state Rep. Bryan Slaton filed a bill on March 4 in the Texas House of Representatives which aims to create a fund that pays for border security enhancement projects and even funds the continued construction of a physical wall. The bill would use state funds to complete the border wall in Texas and seek reimbursement from the federal government.

If passed, Slaton’s bill would also strengthen Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s Operation Lone Star, which was deployed on March 6, sending National Guard and Border agents to the border to combat cartels and smugglers. Gov. Abbott stated that “Texas supports legal immigration but will not be an accomplice to the open border policies that cause, rather than prevent, a humanitarian crisis in our state and endanger the lives of Texans. We will surge the resources and law enforcement personnel needed to confront this crisis.”

Construction of the wall would deter illegal crossings and cartel activity along that portion of the border. Additionally, the existing system of roads would aid border security agencies, allowing them to more effectively patrol areas of the border.

States should not have to do the job of the federal government. Our president is refusing to enforce the law, preventing security agencies from doing their job, and creating policies that draw masses of migrants to our border. It is a shame that states are being forced to do the federal government’s job in order to protect the American people.