Texas tells Biden – new Immigrant Processing Facility's "an expensive Band-Aid on a gunshot wound.”
By Anna Giaritelli
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Texas Insider Report) — The state of Texas strongly urged the Biden White House not to move forward with plans to build another massive processing facility along the U.S.-Mexico Border, calling the latest undertaking “an expensive Band-Aid on a gunshot wound” – and Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham blasted Customs & Border Protection over its plan to build a new "processing facility" in Webb County’s city of Laredo, Texas, where the federal government has proposed housing 500 illegal immigrants.
“While I commend CBP on their tireless efforts to police the border, this proposal for DHS to spend tens of millions of dollars or more to build a 'Joint Processing Center' to accommodate ‘500 non-citizens in processing,’ – its an expensive Band-Aid on a gunshot wound,” said Buckingham in a letter Tuesday to CBP obtained first by the Washington Examiner.
“What this crisis demands, is improved CBP facilities coupled with real federal leadership by DHS and the Biden White House on the underlying border issues,” Buckingham said.
The Department of Homeland Security announced in mid-February that it would accept comments from the public on the forthcoming project.
Since President Joe Biden took office, more than 8 million immigrants have been encountered attempting to enter the United States without authorization – the highest number in any three-year period in U.S. history.
The state has dramatically ramped up its own border security initiatives since 2021 – particularly after Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) brought on former Border Patrol official Mike Banks as the state’s border czar in January 2023.
“The Texas Genaral Land Office – along with the Texas National Guard and the Texas Department of Public Safety – they've all taken control of Fronton Island in the Rio Grande, which was formerly a bastion of cartel activity and smuggling,” Buckingham said.
“Texas has built its own state border wall on GLO property in South Texas – and the GLO has worked with various state partners to fill the void left by absolute negect of the Biden administration and DHS.”
Earlier this year, Gov. Abbott announced Texas would build a permanent military base in the border town of Eagle Pass, Texas, in order to have dependable accommodations for state National Guard soldiers deployed to the border under its Operation Lone Star initiative.
Buckingham said the state’s efforts “should be a model for the Biden administration to follow.”
“Instead, the administration insists on lawsuits and bureaucratic sabotage to prevent the State of Texas from protecting our border.
“Without a change in the Biden administration’s lawless approach to the border, the proposed JPC will have no significant impact on this crisis” Buckingham said.
Anna Giaritelli joined the Washington Examiner in 2015 and focuses on homeland security, immigration, and border issues. Currently based in Austin, Texas, she has traveled to the border on more than 50 occasions since 2018, covering human smuggling, the evolution of the war on drugs, domestic terrorism, and migration trends. Follow Anna on Twitter @Anna_Giaritelli.
