SEN. KOLKHORST SUPPORTS CONSTRUCTION OF TEXAS BORDER WALL
(courtesy Office of Lois Kolkhorst)
State Senator Lois Kolkhorst says she supports the construction of a border wall between Texas and Mexico.
On Wednesday, Kolkhorst joined Governor Greg Abbott, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick and Speaker of the House Dade Phelan at the State Capitol as Abbott announced further details on his plan to build a wall.
Kolkhorst claimed the Biden-Harris Administration has “failed miserably” in its handling of border security, and said, “Where the federal government has stood down, Texas will step up.”
Abbott announced a $250 million “down payment” from the state and directed the Texas Facilities Commission to hire a program manager for the wall. The $250 million will come from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice’s (TDCJ) correctional security budget. Abbott said in a letter to TDCJ Executive Director Bryan Collier that the state will “identify funding to ensure that the functions of TDCJ are not impacted by this transfer.”
The state has also launched a donation page at www.borderwall.texas.gov to help fund construction of the wall. Abbott said the fund will be maintained by the Texas Division of Emergency Management.
Abbott also signed a letter to President Joe Biden asking for the return of land that the federal government took from private property owners in Texas to build the wall. Once returned, the state intends to ask those property owners to use that land for a state-funded wall.
Kolkhorst said this decision is about “protecting our families and businesses in Texas and across the nation from ongoing threats crossing our border illegally every day.”