San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
Abbott’s wall a monument to posturing
An ugly wall that will never truly be built is a fitting project for Gov. Greg Abbott to pursue.
It is a monument to his painfully cynical brand of politics, one that placates the far right with a showy hollowness that some might confuse as boldness. Abbott’s Great Wall of Texas is a political prop. Here’s why:
Even if Texas could build a border wall (legally dubious), it can’t afford to build one. The math on this is fairly straightforward. Abbott has said the state will use $250 million dedicated to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. This will go toward hiring a project manager and starting the wall.
But the Trump administration spent as much as $46 million per mile on some portions of its U.S.Mexico border wall (not paid by Mexico), and funding options for Texas are limited to about $11 billion in the state’s rainy day fund. Beyond this, state lawmakers, who approved $1.1 billion for border security over the next two years for state troopers, haven’t allocated any funding specifically for a border wall.
Abbott has also launched a crowdsourcing campaign to raise private funding for a wall, but this strikes us an invitation for trouble. For precedent, consider the private “We Build the Wall” effort and the swirling allegations of fraud.
But even if Abbott can afford his wall in a meaningful way, it’s also unclear where Abbott can build it. The Trump administration managed to build about 450 miles of barriers on the border, but this included only about 50 miles of new border wall, according to various news reports. Most of the construction was to repair and update existing barriers. And nearly all the land along the Texas-Mexico border is privately owned, and not all landowners want a wall on their properties. Some might welcome one, but Abbott’s wall would come with great gaps.
Then there is the question of legality. The federal government has jurisdiction over federal borders, so Abbott’s effort to build a wall will end up in court, delaying any construction while also costing taxpayers.
If you don’t think the governor of Texas — whipsmart, a former Texas Supreme Court justice and attorney general, and a master of obfuscation — doesn’t know this, well, we have a border wall to sell you.
But wait — there’s more. Abbott has also ordered DPS troopers to arrest immigrants who enter the country illegally for trespassing. But again, immigration is a federal issue, and there is a legal right to make an asylum claim. Expect more lawsuits.
To place these migrants, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice is moving inmates out of the Dolph Briscoe Unit in Dilley, which will serve as a “central holding facility.” That is, they will be held in prison.
We wonder what will Abbott do with immigrant families? Will he separate them by placing children in juvenile detention? Since he has ordered the closure of state-licensed shelters that house immigrant children, will he place children separated from their families with federal emergency shelters?
There is a certain refined sound and fury here. Polling has shown many conservatives will likely approve of Abbott’s wall, hardly surprising given former President Donald Trump’s popularity with Republicans. But it’s hard to see this as anything more than posturing.
The governor of Texas is proposing legally questionable maneuvers at a steep cost to taxpayers. His actions challenge existing asylum law, and could split apart families and burden local officials. It is reminiscent of Abbott alleging child abuse at the emergency children’s shelter at Freeman Coliseum here in San Antonio — and never providing any proof.
Abbott’s not furthering the border discussion, he’s leveraging it on the national stage. It’s a sad indictment of these times that this resonates as leadership.