Texas Border Business
AUSTIN – Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham, M.D. announced the completion of the border wall paneling on the General Land Office’s (GLO) newly-acquired 1,402-acre ranch along the Rio Grande at Starr County’s border with Mexico.
“When we purchased this land, we did so intending to fortify our southern border. The completion of this roughly 1.5-mile stretch of border wall is another step in the right direction in ensuring robust border security for our state,” said Commissioner Buckingham. “As the agency that stewards over thirteen million acres of state land, the Texas General Land Office will continue to play a significant role in safeguarding our Texas families and communities.”
The completion of the 1.5-mile border wall paneling comes shortly after the GLO acquired this ranch along the Rio Grande in Starr County. Less than 24 hours after closing on the property, Commissioner Buckingham signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Texas Facilities Commission (TFC), authorizing them to begin border wall construction.
In addition to wall paneling, TFC is also in the process of installing security cameras to monitor the property, lighting, and a motorized gate to allow law enforcement vehicles to patrol the entire property.
Late last year, Commissioner Buckingham sent the incoming Trump Administration a letter offering the newly acquired land for the construction of deportation facilities and staging areas to carry out the Trump Administration’s plans to deport violent criminal illegal immigrants beginning in 2025.
Starr County is part of the Border Patrol’s Rio Grande Valley Sector, which has recorded approximately 1.4 million migrant encounters crossing the Rio Grande from Mexico into South Texas since January 2021.
