As of Sept. 12, the state of Texas has raised more than $55 million to build a wall in an effort to secure the southern border and to keep thousands of illegal immigrants from continuing to enter, according to a statement from Texas Governor Gregg Abbott. The money comes from donations from the state's residents.
"While securing the border is the responsibility of the federal government, Texas will not stand idly by as this crisis grows. Texas is responding with the strongest and most comprehensive border plan the nation has ever seen," said Governor Abbott.
Likewise, the Republican noted that President Biden's open border policies have led to a humanitarian crisis on the southern border "as record levels of illegal immigrants, drugs and contraband reach Texas."
"Our efforts will only be effective if we work together to secure the border, make criminal arrests, protect landowners, rid our communities of dangerous drugs and give Texans the support they need and deserve," the governor announced.
Abbott declares Mexican drug cartels terrorists
On the other hand, the governor of Texas also issued an executive order last Wednesday officially designating Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. Abbott urged President Joe Biden to do the same to combat human trafficking at the border and the smuggling of fentanyl, a drug so lethal that it is potentially capable of killing all Americans.
Abbott's executive order singled out Mexican drug cartels as being responsible for the trafficking hundreds of millions of lethal doses of fentanyl into Texas and the United States. The Texas governor recalled that more than 1,600 Texans were fatally poisoned by fentanyl-containing drugs in 2021, representing an increase of more than 680% from 2018, and that the number of fentanyl deaths continues to rise in 2022.
Abbott also initiated a few months ago the sending of illegal immigrants to the so-called sanctuary cities: Washington D.C., New York and Chicago, in protest against the Biden Administration's immigration policies.
