Governor Greg Abbott of Texas has been working on building a state-funded wall along the Mexico border for the past three years, with 34 miles of steel bollards completed so far. The project has faced challenges, including securing land access, but progress is being made at a quickened pace. The goal is to have 100 miles completed by 2026, with a rate of about half a mile per week. The total cost is estimated to be upwards of $20 billion.
The wall project is part of Abbott’s $11 billion border crackdown known as Operation Lone Star, which also includes flooding the border with state police and National Guard soldiers. Critics, including Democrats and immigration advocates, argue that the wall is a taxpayer-funded project that will not address the root causes of immigration. Some Republicans are also expressing concerns about the mounting costs of the wall.
State officials have been working on securing land rights for the wall, with 79 easements covering 59 miles obtained by mid-June. The pace of construction has been dictated by the state’s success in securing land access, with the focus on areas identified as high priority by the Department of Public Safety.
The estimated cost of the wall is $25-30 million per mile, with an additional $500,000 per mile needed for maintenance annually. Despite concerns about the project’s cost and effectiveness, Texas Republicans have continued to approve funding for the wall construction. Governor Abbott has praised the progress of the wall project as a way for Texas to address the immigration crisis.
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