AUSTIN, Texas — Gov. Greg Abbott announced Wednesday that Texas will begin building its own border wall.
The governor took the first step by allocating $250M to pay for a project manager and for negotiations with land owners on the Texas border.
He is asking private citizens to help pay for the rest of the wall by donating to a website the state set up.
"We believe in the law and law and order in this state and by God we're going to step up and deliver," Abbott said. "Texas is stepping up and doing more than any state ever has done to respond to the crisis at the border."
Abbott also announced that Texas Rangers will arrest immigrants who cross the border illegally.
Abbott said he plants to send a letter to President Biden to demand the return of Texas lands that were supposed to be used for President Trump's border wall.
Oklahoma, Arkanas and the Dakotas have pledged to help Texas build the wall. Florida's governor says he'll send law enforcement agencies to the Texas and Arizona borders.
Biden has suspended construction of the wall while his administration reviews the project. He said he'll return more than $2 billion that the Trump administration diverted from the Pentagon to help pay for the wall and use other money appropriated by Congress to address “urgent life, safety, and environmental issues” created by the construction.
On Tuesday, former President Donald Trump announced that he would be joining Abbott on a trip to the border later this month.