Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s effort to build a wall at Texas’ southern border has raised almost $400,000 in public donations since the project was announced last week, the governor’s office confirmed to Fox News on Tuesday.
Abbott announced last Wednesday that Texas will build its own border wall and also put forward a $250 million down payment to begin the project, allowing the state to hire a project manager and get the task underway. He said that it would be built with a combination of state land and donations of private land, and be partly funded by donations, including via a website.
“Make no mistake, the border crisis that we’re dealing with right now is a direct result of the open border policies that have been put in place by the Biden administration,” he said at a press conference last week. “Homes are being invaded, neighborhoods are dangerous and people are being threatened on a daily basis with guns by people coming across the border or those working with those coming across the border,” he said.
On Wednesday, Abbott said that the Biden administration “has abandoned its responsibility to apply federal law to secure the border and enforce the immigration laws.” More than 450 miles of border wall, including in Texas, was built during the Trump administration. That construction was suddenly halted by the Biden administration shortly after President Biden took office. Opponents of wall construction said it was cruel and ineffective, while proponents said it was a vital part of a border strategy to stop the flow of illegal immigration.
