Texas governor redirects $250 million in taxpayer money to kickstart his state border wall


Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) gave more details Wednesday about the wall he wants the state to build along the Mexico border to slow and entrap immigrants. He did not say where the wall will be built or how much it will cost, but he and other Republican officials tapped state funds for a $250 million "down payment" to hire a project manager who will make those decisions. The wall will cost "far more than $250 million," Abbott conceded. He also pledged to build more jails along the Mexico border to house immigrants he said Texas will arrest.
The Supreme Court ruled 5-3 in 2012 that states can't enforce immigration law, but Abbott told the conservative podcast Ruthless on Tuesday that state police will arrest immigrants for other violations. The wall "sets up a crime," he explained. "Anybody coming across the border who in any way tries to damage that fence, they are guilty of two crimes," vandalism and trespassing, both of which are treated as higher-level offenses under an emergency declaration Abbott issued earlier in June. "We will be putting these people in jail for a long time," he said.
Abbott may also be counting on a more conservative Supreme Court overturning its 2012 precedent, the Houston Chronicle reports.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
President Biden, who halted his predecessor's federal wall construction, recently returned more than $2 billion the Trump administration siphoned from the Pentagon for the project. The Homeland Security Department also said it's reviewing border land the Trump administration confiscated through eminent domain over the past year and "will work to return the land to its prior owners," when appropriate.
Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush said Wednesday he will grant emergency authorization for Abbott's wall to be built on state land, but most of the Texas borderlands are private property. Abbott said he will crowdsource wall construction funds and ask Texas landowners to volunteer their property. "My belief based upon conversations that I've already had is that the combination of state land as well as volunteer land will yield hundreds of miles to build a border wall in Texas," he said.
The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) and the ACLU of Texas have both threatened to sue Texas over its foray into federal asylum and immigration policy. LULAC national president Domingo Garcia called Abbott's wall plan an illegal waste of taxpayer funds, "political grandstanding," and "gutter politics."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Today's political cartoons - March 30, 2025
Cartoons Sunday's cartoons - strawberry fields forever, secret files, and more
By The Week US Published
-
5 hilariously sparse cartoons about further DOGE cuts
Cartoons Artists take on free audits, report cards, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Following the Tea Horse Road in China
The Week Recommends This network of roads and trails served as vital trading routes
By The Week UK Published
-
The JFK files: the truth at last?
In The Spotlight More than 64,000 previously classified documents relating the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy have been released by the Trump administration
By The Week Staff Published
-
Supreme Court upholds 'ghost gun' restrictions
Speed Read Ghost guns can be regulated like other firearms
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump sets 25% tariffs on auto imports
Speed Read The White House says the move will increase domestic manufacturing. But the steep import taxes could also harm the US auto industry.
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
'Americans deserve immigration officials who are transparent about what they do and why'
instant opinion 'Opinion, comment and editorials of the day'
By Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, The Week US Published
-
Trump allies urge White House to admit chat blunder
Speed Read Even pro-Trump figures are criticizing The White House's handling of the Signal scandal
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Waltz takes blame for texts amid calls for Hegseth ouster
Speed Read Democrats are calling for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and national security adviser Michael Waltz to step down
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Judge: Nazis treated better than Trump deportees
speed read U.S. District Judge James Boasberg reaffirmed his order barring President Donald Trump from deporting alleged Venezuelan gang members
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US officials share war plans with journalist in group chat
Speed Read Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg was accidentally added to a Signal conversation about striking Yemen
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published