By Karen Gleason
830 Times
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott pledged to resume building a border wall and to arrest any citizens of other countries entering the state illegally.
Abbott announced his initiative to secure the Texas-Mexico border Thursday during a Border Security Summit here.
Invited Val Verde County landowners, elected officials and law enforcement officers from across south-central Texas and a corps of media packed the Pecan Room in the civic center for the governor’s summit.
Val Verde County Sheriff Joe Frank Martinez welcomed those attending the summit and introduced Abbott.
“We’ve been in meetings all day, and one thing we know is a border crisis is plaguing the farmers, the ranchers, the residents of the entire border region. Fences are being mowed down, you have livestock and crops that are being destroyed, you have homes that are being invaded and neighborhoods that simply are not as safe as they used to be. Your law enforcement officers, they’re having to re-direct their resources to deal with the border as opposed to what they normally deal with, which is keeping your communities safe,” Abbott said.
“County judges and mayors are facing skyrocketing expenses because of the border crisis. Change is needed to fix the border crisis problem. These challenges that we’re talking about are a direct result of the open border policies in place right now,” the governor added, to wild cheering from the crowd.
Abbott spoke about his initial response to the “open-border policy” and laid out an eight-point plan he said would allow Texas to secure its border with Mexico.
He said his first move was to call Thursday’s Border Security Summit “which brings together local officials and residents to talk about immediate solutions.”
Second, Abbott said he is “immediately invoking Article 4 of the Texas Constitution to form the Governor’s Task Force on Border and Homeland Security.”
“It will help all of us to work on ways to stem the flow of unlawful immigration and to stem the flow of illegal contraband,” he said, adding the task force would include the governor’s office, the Texas attorney general, the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Texas Division of Emergency Management, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement and the Texas Commission on Jail Standards.
He said the task force members will meet every two weeks with members of the Texas Border Sheriffs Coalition, county judges and mayors, property rights organizations, concerned citizens and prosecutors in border communities.
Third, Abbott said there is an allocation in the budget just passed by the Texas Legislature “of more than $1 billion for border security.”
“I am hereby approving this billion-dollar allocation to border security allocation in Texas tonight. This will add more boots on the ground, it’s going to add more aircraft and drones in the air, more boats in the water and provide the resources you need to begin to step up and address the border challenges you face,” he said.
Fourth, the governor said he has already issued a gubernatorial disaster declaration for 34 counties, including Val Verde County, that have requested assistance from the state because of the border crisis.
Fifth, Abbott said next week he would be issuing a new disaster declaration “creating an enhanced border security plan.”
“This plan includes an intensified focus to make sure that we make it even more difficult for people to come into the state illegally and to make sure there are consequences for people who come into the state illegally,” he said.
“What this will do is focus on making arrests. The Department of Public Safety will work with local officials to arrest anyone who enters our state illegally and is found trespassing. We will be arresting a lot more people in the future,” Abbott said.
Sixth, Abbott called for the construction of “border barriers.”
“Some of these border barriers will be built immediately. Whenever anyone tries to modify or get through these border barriers, that in itself is a crime for which they can be arrested,” Abbott said.
He said he would announce next week a plan “for the state of Texas to begin building the border wall.”
This measure drew the loudest cheers from the crowd.
Seventh, Abbott said, “The border crisis is bigger than the state of Texas. It affects the entire country. The spread of deadly fentanyl is just one example.”
He said he and Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey are invoking “an interstate compact power that enables states to help one another in times of disaster and emergency” and are calling on other states to join in their effort.
Eighth, the governor said, “landowners need relief, too.”
“It is wrong that they are left to foot the bill for damages caused to their property by people who are here illegally. The federal government should pay for those damages,” Abbott said.
He said the governor’s task force would work with the federal government to seek recovery for damages “caused by the federal government.”
“Long-term, only Congress and the president can fix our broken border, but in the meantime, Texas is going to do everything possible, including beginning to make arrests, to keep our communities safe, to keep the cartels and smugglers out. We are going to do everything we can to secure the border and it begins immediately, today, right here in Val Verde County,” Abbott said.
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