Galveston County, 400 miles from the Texas-Mexico border, declares an emergency over 'border crisis'


Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) is hosting former President Donald Trump on Wednesday at the Texas-Mexico border, where Abbott is using an unprecedented May 31 border "disaster" declaration to spend state funds on a border wall he has pledged to build. Abbott amended his order on Monday, giving the 34 border counties a chance to opt out of his emergency declaration and other counties a chance to join — 11 counties dropped out, and five new counties joined, some of them 300 miles or more away from the border.
Galveston County County Judge Mark Henry (R) said Tuesday that he has signed a local disaster declaration in response to the "ongoing border crisis." Galveston County is 400 miles from the nearest border town, Brownsville, and closer to New Orleans than Mexico. Henry's executive order establishes a task force to coordinate with state police on the best way local law enforcement can help at the border. It also dedicated up to $6.6 million in federal funds — or 10 percent of the money earmarked for the county from President Biden's American Rescue Plan — for Abbott's wall construction, the Houston Chronicle reports.
Abbott has said he plans to crowdsource funding for his wall, after a $250 million down payment of taxpayer money, and his office said it raised $459,000 in private donations in the first week. "As Abbott tries to raise money so the state can pick up building the border wall, Texas Democrats are trying to keep him from tapping into more than $15 billion in COVID relief funding the federal government is sending to Texas," the Chronicle reports. "Henry's local state of disaster declaration will remain in place for no more than seven days without authorization by the county commissioners court."
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.
Abbott's wall scheme isn't the only creative public-private partnership tied to his border machinations. South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem's (R) office said Tuesday that Tennessee billionaire and GOP mega-donor Willis Johnson is bankrolling her deployment of 50 South Dakota National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border. Abbott and Noem are both considered possible 2024 GOP presidential candidates.
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.
-
Flying into danger
Feature America's air traffic control system is in crisis. Can it be fixed?
-
Pocket change: The demise of the penny
Feature The penny is being phased out as the Treasury plans to halt production by 2026
-
Time's up: The Democratic gerontocracy
Feature The Democratic party is losing key seats as they refuse to retire aging leaders
-
A running list of all the celebrities Trump has pardoned
IN DEPTH Reality stars, rappers and disgraced politicians have received some of the high-profile pardons doled out by the president
-
'The pattern is similar across America'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
White House tackles fake citations in MAHA report
speed read A federal government public health report spearheaded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was rife with false citations
-
Judge blocks push to bar Harvard foreign students
speed read Judge Allison Burroughs sided with Harvard against the Trump administration's attempt to block the admittance of international students
-
Trump's trade war whipsawed by court rulings
Speed Read A series of court rulings over Trump's tariffs renders the future of US trade policy uncertain
-
What's next for Elon Musk?
Today's Big Question The world's richest man has become 'disillusioned' with politics – but returning to his tech empire presents its own challenges
-
Trump's super-charged pardon push raises eyebrows and concerns
IN THE SPOTLIGHT Never shy about using his pardon ability for political leverage, Trump's spate of amnesty announcements suggests the White House is taking things to a new level
-
Elon Musk departs Trump administration
speed read The former DOGE head says he is ending his government work to spend more time on his companies