According to Governor Greg Abbott of Texas, the state will resume construction of a border wall on its border with Mexico. This decision follows a period of negotiations between Texas officials and private property owners for the construction of infrastructure on their land. Abbott stated, “More border wall is going up next month. It took months to negotiate with private property owners on the border for the right to build on their property. We now should be building more border wall all of next year.”
The border wall construction project has been in progress for a while, with the Texas Facilities Commission approving a $167 million contract with Southwest Valley Constructors Co. for the construction of a nearly seven-mile wall in the Del Rio area. Another contract has also been signed with construction company BFBC of Texas to build a separate seven-mile wall in the Rio Grande Valley.
BIDEN ADMINISTRATION SUES ARIZONA OVER SHIPPING CONTAINER BORDER WALL
Meanwhile, Joe Biden’s administration has filed a lawsuit against the state of Arizona over its construction of a makeshift border wall using shipping containers and razor wire to prevent the flow of illegal immigrants. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court, claims that the installation of the shipping containers and razor wire “damages federal lands, threatens public safety, and impedes the ability of federal agencies and officials, including law enforcement personnel, to perform their official duties.”
EXPIRATION OF TITLE 42 PROMPTS PREPARATION FOR POTENTIAL IMMIGRATION SURGE IN TEXAS AND OTHER STATES:
As the expiration of Title 42 approaches on Wednesday, Texas and other states are preparing for a potential surge in immigration. Title 42 is a Trump-era policy that restricts the number of asylum seekers allowed in the U.S. under the COVID-19 pandemic, and it will expire after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit declined to extend the policy on Friday.
