The Texas General Land Office (GLO) has acquired a significant piece of land in Starr County, located within the Rio Grande Sector, an area known for some of the highest levels of illegal border crossings. The state now plans to use this land for additional border wall construction.
Governor Greg Abbott announced funding for the state-led project back in 2021 after the Biden administration abruptly ended construction of the Trump-era border wall.
In addition to this initiative, Abbott’s administration has also deployed a floating buoy barrier in the Rio Grande, part of a broader strategy to enhance border security. The state attributes these barriers, along with other state-led efforts, to a recent drop in apprehensions.
Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham shared with Fox News Digital that the Texas Facilities Commission, responsible for building the wall, specifically requested this property in Starr County.
With this acquisition, the GLO now holds over 4,000 acres of strategically located land along the Texas-Mexico border.
“They said, ‘Look, it’s in the main area of where we’re seeing the traffic across the border. We have terrible things happening on this piece of property. The current owner is not only blocking the border wall, but she is blocking law enforcement’s access to that property,'” she said. “‘And to really get complete operational control of the border, we really need to control this piece of ground.’ So we made her an offer. We found a way to purchase her ranch from her.”
According to Buckingham, the state has already moved heavy equipment onto the land, signaling the rapid start of construction. This acquisition is part of Texas’s comprehensive approach to border security.
The land, unfortunately, has seen “a massive amount of human traffic,” with conditions on the property underscoring the urgency of action. Her office reported disturbing findings, including “rape trees”—trees used to display women’s clothing as markers of abuse by human traffickers.
“They said, ‘Look, it’s in the main area of where we’re seeing the traffic across the border. We have terrible things happening on this piece of property. The current owner is not only blocking the border wall, but she is blocking law enforcement’s access to that property,'” she said. “‘And to really get complete operational control of the border, we really need to control this piece of ground.’ So we made her an offer. We found a way to purchase her ranch from her.”