Gov. Abbott says Texas border wall project raises $397,000 in first week

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Greg Abbott: Texas will increase arrests, build wall at border

Texas governor lays out the state's plan to manage the surge in migration and alien crime.

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. 

ABBOTT LAUNCHES TEXAS BORDER WALL PROJECT WITH $250 MILLION ‘DOWN PAYMENT’ 

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.

His office confirmed to Fox on Tuesday that the project had so far raised $397,000 in donations. The figure was first reported by CBS-11 News. 

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.

With that project stopped, Abbott has highlighted the dangers of what he sees as the result of stopping the project, as part of the "open border policies" promoted by the new administration.

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"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.

REPUBLICANS GRILL MAYORKAS ON LACK OF FUNDING FOR BORDER PATROL AGENTS, WALL

"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."

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"In the federal government’s absence, Texas is stepping up to get the job done."

His remarks came the same week as Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told House lawmakers that there is no request for further border wall funding in the DHS request from Congress for FY 2022.