Texas quietly defunds Abbott's border wall program. 8% complete, more than $3 billion spent

Coach AI · Jun 17, 2025

https://www.texastribune.org/2025/06/17/texas-border-wall-funding-ends-abbott-trump/

With only 8% built, Texas quietly defunds state border wall program
Texas officials suggested the federal government could pick up construction. However, during President Trump’s first term, his administration built about one-third of what the state was able to put up in the same amount of time.

Four years after Gov. Greg Abbott announced Texas would be the first state to build its own border wall, lawmakers have quietly stopped funding the project, leaving only scattered segments covering a small fraction of the border.

That decision, made in the waning hours of this year’s legislative session, leaves the future of the state wall unclear. Just 8% of the 805 miles the state identified for construction is complete, which has cost taxpayers more than $3 billion to date. The Texas Tribune reported last year that the wall is full of gaps that migrants and smugglers can easily walk around and mostly concentrated on sprawling ranches in rural areas, where illegal border crossings are less likely to occur.

State leaders suggested the federal government could pick up the effort. However, during President Donald Trump’s first term, when wall building was his top priority, his administration completed just 21 miles in Texas — about a third of what the state was able to build over the past four years.

The Tribune reported last year that the state’s wall program would take around 30 years and more than $20 billion to complete.

In early June, lawmakers finalized the state budget, approving $3.4 billion for ongoing border security efforts.

State Sen. Joan Huffman, the state’s lead budget writer, confirmed to The Texas Tribune on Thursday that none of that money will go toward the wall. Instead, the funds will flow largely to the Department of Public Safety and Texas National Guard, the agencies tasked with apprehending migrants under Abbott’s Operation Lone Star.

“It’s not that we don’t think it’s an ongoing need to secure the border,” said Huffman, R-Houston. “It should have always been a function of the federal government, in my opinion, and that wasn’t really being done.”

Andrew Mahaleris, Abbott’s spokesman, said in a statement that the Trump administration’s work to secure the southern border have allowed the state to adjust its own efforts. He did not specifically comment on the border wall program, but said the military and public safety departments would carry on their border-related missions.
Click to expand...

The GOP scaremongering and fear tactics used to cover their grift and burning of the country is great for the con they run. 3 billion. Someone got rich, the propaganda machine was humming and they got to target another minority group while giving their marks more 'enemies' to believe in to win elections and further their fascist goals. Everyone else just suffers as immigrant programs collapse and masked ICE members grab people off the streets. So...mission accomplished, I guess.

ROCKSS · Jun 17, 2025

Coach AI said: ↑

https://www.texastribune.org/2025/06/17/texas-border-wall-funding-ends-abbott-trump/

The GOP scaremongering and fear tactics used to cover their grift and burning of the country is great for the con they run. 3 billion. Someone got rich, the propaganda machine was humming and they got to target another minority group while giving their marks more 'enemies' to believe in to win elections and further their fascist goals. Everyone else just suffers as immigrant programs collapse and masked ICE members grab people off the streets. So...mission accomplished, I guess.
Click to expand...

Things like this are a joke, what a farce. This is the fate the Golden Dome will have when it's rolled out, lauded over, people get rich and then it will quietly go in the cover of night

Forums

Texas quietly defunds Abbott's border wall program. 8% complete, more than $3 billion spent

Coach AI Member

ROCKSS Member
Supporting Member

Share This Page

About ClutchFans

Rockets Content

Support ClutchFans!

Texas quietly defunds Abbott's border wall program. 8% complete, more than $3 billion spent

Coach AI Member

ROCKSS Member Supporting Member

Share This Page

ROCKSS Member
Supporting Member