Photo: PATRICK T. FALLON / AFP / Getty Images
Texas Governor Greg Abbott and former President Donald Trump will visit the border on Wednesday, approximately two weeks after the governor announced his plans to pay for the construction of more wall on the border of their state, with money of taxpayers.
The Republican political couple will hold a press conference around 11: 30 am on Wednesday before a tour “For the unfinished border wall” at 12: 30 pm, according to a statement from Abbott’s office.
Abbott and Trump’s visit comes after a handful of other politicians, including Vice President Kamala Harris , have made trips to the Texas-Mexico border in recent months.
With so much political rhetoric playing a role in the discussion of the country’s border, here are issues to consider before the visit of the governor and the former president to the Rio Grande Valley, on Wednesday.
Wednesday’s event occurs in the middle of a sustained increase in undocumented immigrant crossings that has persisted since early 2021.
While Abbott and Trump have blamed the Biden administration for causing the surge in migrant numbers, Border Patrol border crossing statistics show that the crosses have been c cyclicals in recent decades and have been exacerbated by a pause in crossings during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.
Regardless of the cause, the data is clear: Border Patrol agents have had more than 100, 000 encounters with migrants every month, since February.
While the number of migrants detained at the border this year has been relatively high compared to recent years, is not the highest in history . For example in 2000, CBP reported at least 100, 000 arrests for eight consecutive months, peaking in February with 100, 328 arrests.
Abbott’s “wall”
After berating Biden’s federal government for failing to secure the border, Abbott announced that Texas will build its own border wall , funded by state taxpayers and private donations. And the governor announced the start of the construction of the wall on his Twitter account.
Building the border barrier has begun.
The 1st step is to get easements on land.
The 2nd step is to clear the land for the building process.
That is what is happening here.
The Texas Facilities Commission is working to hire a program manager to oversee the entire process. pic.twitter.com/n9JUN0CymL
– Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) June 28, 2021
Instead of seeking approval from Texas legislators to fund the project, the governor promised a down payment of $ 250 million dollars for the wall. The governor used a disaster declaration to divert money of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) budget.
