Texas announces they are building their border wall. Not waiting for help from federal government.

https://www.businessinsider.com/texas-governor-greg-abbott-launches-construction-state-border-wall-2021-12

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott traveled Saturday to Starr County on the US-Mexico border to launch the construction of a border wall funded by $1 billion in state appropriations and $54 million in private donations, the Texas Tribune reported.

The Texas wall follows an executive order issued by President Joe Biden on his first day in office that paused federal border wall construction and called for a review of the projects. Biden went on to cancelmultiple border wall contracts.

The lack of progress on the border wall prompted Abbott, a Republican, to take matters into his own hands, announcing plans in June to build a wall along Texas's southern border without funding from the federal government.

"While Biden does nothing, we are stepping up to protect our communities," Abbott said in a tweet Saturday. "The Lone Star State is securing the border."

Good for TX.

Get it done yourself. Biden is never going to even look at the border.

lol OK Texas, good luck with that.

Maybe someone else will steal that money, too. Is Steve Bannon available?

Oooooh or maybe they'll use undocumented immigrants to build it like they did that one time!

Jackasses been trying to build this wall for decades, nothing but a comical waste of money the whole damn time.

Ladders, tunnels, and planes! Oh my!

https://twitter.com/i/status/1202065077328924672

You're expecting these people to think in more than 2 dimensions?

Sure as hell reduces the amount of people who can do that compared to simply walking across though, don't it?

No, not really. You get the coyotes leading people up to this thing, they're not going to come unprepared. And who is going to make the journey from central America and not be able to climb a ladder?

The fence absolutely does **** wildlife, though.

Then maybe you should do something about your elected officials inviting these people here, and protecting them from the consequences of entering illegally. Until you're willing to uphold the laws of this nation as written and signed by representatives elected by the people, you don't really have much room to complain about it.

What if you put barb wires on top of that fence? 🤔🤔🤔

I can't complain about the ineffectiveness of a fence because what now?

They tried that. The Mexicans took it home and put it up around their houses.

Because it's not ineffective. I can agree with the wildlife argument, but at this point there's no other alternative if the federal government is going to be derelict in enforcing the laws they are supposed to be enforcing.

Not sure they can legally do that. Not that republicans care about the law. I say sue them, but the courts are stooges. Biden should the right thing, use the military to stop this.

Want to stop the flood of migrants? Stop the flow of guns going south. Release enough water on the Rio Grande for Mexico to use. Enforce existing US/international labor laws. Cease farm subsidies and pricing controls.

The above would really boost the Central American farming industry. But of course, it would cost us money so it's not going to happen, is it?

@br0kenrabbit: Wouldnt that harm the us economy?

It would, because it would actually be fair.

Everyone is all into that 'no regulation, let the free market do its job' until it turns out that it'll cost us money.

Glad to see someone here find actual solutions to illegal immigration rather than pointless posturing (the wall).

If you want to keep others out, it would be prudent to ask WHY they emigrate to your home country in the first place, even if the answers may make you personally feel uncomfortable.

I wonder how the west will react when Climate massive climate refugee waves start happening.

We already know how we will react. Scream, lie, isolate ourselves, fight with the next country, wonder why our country sucks so much and elect a bigger narcissistic than the previous one in a foolish hope to improve but only get it worse. Did I mention the removal of all safety nets and start hating ourselves?

@br0kenrabbit: Yeah, its not about fair or solving problems. Its about money and power.

@Maroxad: blame liberals.

Don't forget climate change. That's what knocked down some of these walls.

@horgen: Unfortunately, and that final bit about hating ourselves is so true.

I swear, the people who tend to be these nationalist types, tend to be the biggest haters of their own fellow citizens. Because we don't live up to their fantasy.

They will continue to blame everyone but themselves of course. Never learn anything.

You think it's all Mexicans? Most are not. And the Rio Grande doesn't reach Central America. Tell me, do you think people would be more or less likely to make that trip of mayors of certain cities weren't promising them immunity from deportation? If senators weren't dangling those amnesty carrots in front of them?

We should enforce the laws that are written. But if we do so, that means those cities are going to have to be held accountable for openly obstructing the enforcement of those laws.

We're going to have to go after the farmers for employing all those illegal immigrants, too.

No, the Rio Grande doesn't reach Central America. But agriculture in Northern Mexico depends on it, and has struggled with the water restrictions. It adds to the desperation of the region.

And the fact that we subsidize our farmers (mostly the big corps, rarely mom and pop) keeps us out of foreign trade markets, unless said produce is from an American-owned megacorp. This alone strangles the agri industry in Central America.

Take a long view of civilization, man. Quick fixes rarely fix anything. History has taught us this many times over, we just won't listen.

59:36 if it doesn't automatically start there, which it should.

I heard on the news today that the Secretary of DHS is authorized the completion of the border wall. Filling in all the gaps and gates from Texas to the Pacific ocean. Trump was right again.

Pretty much.

Borders are dumb when you get down to it.

But because we are victim to unbridled capitalism we make borders to keep the poor brown folks out I guess.

About time a state had some balls to do something about this.

"bu bu but it's waste of moooney" says the derp who said nothing or did nothing when our government sent millions of shady money overseas the last year and a half. I'm sure that millions we sent Pakistan for gender studies is doing well, of course the missiles they bought with that money doesn't care what gender you are when they hit... /shrug

Its their money...

They are fee to waste it in expensive projects that don't add value.

@mrbojangles25: so which country has the budget to receive and take care of all people in the world?

And borders predate capitalism by several thousand years.

You cut it.

It hurts wildlife. It's a net negative. Costs money better spent elsewhere. Is bad for animals, and stops nothing. It's political posturing.

"borders are dumb"

Nah they make alot of sense, you need borders for a country to be sustainable.

A nation without borders has no sovereignty, essentially no rule of law, and the numbers are not sustainable and will eventually lead to collapse this is why ALL 1st world countries have borders.....

Exactly, nobody should be upset by Texans paying for something for Texas. Its honestly ideal not having the federal government involved. Texas will be able to build this much cheaper as well because the FEDs suck at saving cost.

Id like to see more of this on other issues as well.

Like Abortion.

Lets say CA wants to have free abortions for all up to 9 months. Not one dime of the money for that should come from the FEDS. Let CA pay for it by increasing CA taxes for the people in the state to pay for it.

This is what conservatives want to spend their money on. Not tax credits for children, not investment into our future. A monument for ignorant xenophobia.

Good luck, Texas. Between this and your pro-birth vigilante bill, you're shaping up to outdo Florida in the realm of idiocy.

Good, let's waste more money on people who can defeat this as easily as bringing a ladder or rope with a hook. But hey, the image of a wall has a really strong first impression on dunces and reactionaries, so why not?

Brilliant.

You are comparing Texas spending 1 billion of Texas money for a border on the Texas border to a 2.5 trillion pork barrel spending bill being pushed by Democrats within the federal government. To put that in perspective, of the spending bill (which is not just child tax credits) 200 billion of the 2.5 trillion would be going towards child tax credit.

And why should tax payers have to pay people who have kids?? I never agreed to it.

Democrats love to shut down people making money but they spend like they are dying tomorrow. Unsustainable. None of you guys are going to get it until bread is $100 a loaf.

Those people with kids are paying taxes as well. Such a selfish party the GOP is. No problem spending on walls, military, and corporate welfare though. It would be refreshing to see that once in a while.

I'm not affiliated with the GOP

I despise the GOP

I just despise the Democrats more

I am done correcting you over this.

You're a GOP cheerleader.

It's amazing how many on this forum are for open boarders . It's a far left policy that most of America is against. This will be yet another reason the dems get wiped in the midterms.

Better then just letting them over here to leech off benefits we already can't afford.

Like putting a really expensive band aid on a tumor. That's not going to fix the reasons why migrants are leaving their homes in central/south America and coming north.

Awesome, I'm looking forward to this.

1 billion is still 1 billion better spent elsewhere, or are you really that naïve to think a border wall can be completed with 1 billion and no run cost for maintenance?

But thanks for clarifying that you're morally opposed to reducing child poverty. As if these children chose to be poor and born to their parents. And of course this is coming form the PRO-LIFE crowd too.

To be against the wall isn't to be pro-open borders. It's to realize that it's a fiscally irresponsible and stupid blanket solution to a problem that could be much better addressed by the allocation of those funds to other means that would be much more effective. Seriously. These people aren't casual thieves driving around neighborhoods scouting out houses to rob and are deterred by one with a fence as opposed to one without.....they typically have uprooted their entire lives to travel many, many miles seeking a new life in another country, at peril to their own. A wall is small tier disincentive to that determination and motivation.

Money would be much better spent on motion sensors, more border patrols, drones, agents, dogs, etc. But then we can't have that grand Trump-esque sales pitch that holds such allure to idiots by virtue of imagery and appeals to xenophobic bigotry, can we? It's a much harder sell than a base appeal to prejudice and gut reaction, so people won't buy as readily into it.

@silentchief: https://news.gallup.com/poll/1660/immigration.aspx

Americans think immigration is a good thing while remain split on current levels. Most polls that say otherwise are either done by right wingers or skewed that way.

It doesn't have to be a wall. I'm for whatever works best. But do you see those that oppose the wall offer better solutions in return? Not usually. They usually come up with some bullshit about racism, xenophobia and building bridges over walls. They rarely come up with an alternate solution. Most say it won't work so let them over.

What does that have to do with illegals coming from the southern boarder?

right lol

Do you realize most people in the US illegally actually arrived here legally and overstayed (5 to 1 IIRC)?

How does a wall help that?

@silentchief: Think harder little one. Your claim the majority are against it is false. Also brokenrabbit embarrassed you on another lie you told.

It's almost like it's yet another topic they haven't any knowledge of but repeat propaganda.