How Texas plans to pay for border wall

 Karen Townsend:

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Biden’s border crisis continues to grow. The governor has used the tools available to him to bring the border under control. Now there is an escalation that if the federal government won’t do its job, Texas will have to do it. One immediate question that has arisen is how will Texas pay for border wall construction? Abbott said in an interview on Friday that there are options, including the possibility of crowdsourcing to raise money for it. That brings up memories of the story of Trump supporters beginning a crowdsourcing campaign to raise money for Trump’s wall only to have it shut down over charges of fraud against the organizer. No one wants that mess to happen in Texas. There is money available that was approved by the Legislature – not specifically for wall construction but for border security.

The Legislature has already approved a record $1.1 billion in funding for border security over the next two fiscal years to cover the costs of state trooper patrols.

The only available state dollars are about $11 billion in the rainy day fund, or nearly $16 billion in federal stimulus that is set to be allocated this fall in a special legislative session. The federal funds, however, have a number of strings attached to them and it’s unclear whether the House and Senate would agree to use those dollars for the wall.

There is little doubt that the Biden administration will fight Texas over wall construction. The federal government supersedes the state government on immigration. We can count on lawsuits being filed to put a stop to Abbott’s plans, likely from some landowners on the border who do not want to succumb to eminent domain issues. Abbott said that he met with about 100 landowners and asked for a show of hands of those interested in working with the state on using their property. The governor said more hands rose than he could count. If push comes to shove and the Biden administration pushes back on Abbott’s plans, the federal government wins.

Abbott is up for re-election. Border security and illegal migration are top issues in Texas politics, even in elections years that don’t include a record number of illegal migrants flooding the border, as is the case this year. Abbott is being challenged in the Republican primary by former state Senator Don Huffines who is running to Abbott’s right. Huffines has pledged to finish the border wall in Texas. Perhaps this is more of a campaign issue than it is a real solution for the state.

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Getting the landowners to buy into the proposal looks like a win for Abbott's plan.  In the past, they have opposed it, but the damage from the Biden policy is causing significant problems for these landowners and has made them less safe.  Having the cartels racing trucks and other vehicles through their property tends to focus the mind on the problem.  I think arresting the illegals for trespassing will also slow the movement through Texas.  What it may do is lead the cartel to reroute through New Mexico and California since Arizona is looking at similar measures as Texas.  New Mexico is run by libs like California.