While the Biden administration fails to address and even\ndenies the crisis at our border, states are struggling as they fight to deal\nwith the consequences. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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<\/a>, ultimately completing 453 miles<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to border agents, Biden\u2019s construction halt<\/a> \u201cbuilt roads for the cartels.\u201d 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\u2019 highway. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Actions like these, along with the many others made by the\nBiden administration to render immigration law meaningless, are forcing states\nto take matters into their own hands. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Texas state Rep. Bryan Slaton filed a bill<\/a> 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If passed, Slaton\u2019s bill would also strengthen Texas Gov. Greg Abbott\u2019s Operation Lone Star<\/a>, which was deployed on March 6, sending National Guard and Border agents to the border to combat cartels and smugglers. Gov. Abbott stated<\/a> that \u201cTexas 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n