'Shut it down': Red state makes massive land buy to ramp up border wall efforts amid migrant surge

FIRST ON FOX: The authorities of Texas has taken different awesome measurement successful its efforts to build a wall astatine its separator pinch Mexico, acquiring a 1,400 acre ranch on nan Rio Grande successful a cardinal area that officials opportunity has seen quality trafficking, arsenic good arsenic weapons and supplier smuggling.

The Texas General Land Office (GLO) has acquired nan ranch successful Starr County, successful Border Patrol’s Rio Grande Sector, which saw immoderate of nan highest levels of migrant traffic. The authorities will now usage that onshore to build further separator wall.

Gov. Greg Abbott announced successful 2021 backing for a authorities task to continue construction of a wall aft nan Biden management abruptly ended nan Trump-era project. Abbott has besides built a floating buoy obstruction successful nan Rio Grande. His management has linked nan barriers, and a broader effort by nan state, to a driblet successful apprehensions.

BATTLEGROUND STATE RANCHER ‘OUTRAGED’ BY BIDEN STOPPING WALL CONSTRUCTION AS MIGRANTS POUR INTO US

This image shows drone footage from a ranch successful Starr County. (Texas General Land Office)

Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham told Fox News Digital that nan Texas Facilities Commission, responsible for building nan wall, requested nan property. It now intends that nan GLO owns 2 pieces of onshore connected nan separator successful Starr Country encompassing much than 4,000 acres.

"They said, ‘Look, it's successful nan main area of wherever we're seeing nan postulation crossed nan border. We person unspeakable things happening connected this portion of property. The existent proprietor is not only blocking nan separator wall, but she is blocking rule enforcement's entree to that property,'" she said. "'And to really get complete operational power of nan border, we really request to power this portion of ground.’ So we made her an offer. We recovered a measurement to acquisition her ranch from her."

Buckingham said nan authorities has already been retired pinch bulldozers connected nan property, and she believes building will statesman quickly.

This aerial image taken connected Dec. 8, 2023, shows nan U.S.-Mexico separator wall successful Sasabe, Arizona. (Valerie Macon/AFP via Getty Images)

While it is 1 portion of a broader separator information effort, Buckingham said location has been "a monolithic magnitude of human traffic" connected nan property. Her agency said nan acquisition includes trees that person served arsenic "rape trees," wherever migrants would show women's clothing arsenic trophies aft abuse. 

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"It's astatine an area of awesome impact, it's successful an area wherever we spot tons of group coming crossed each of nan time, not only seeing nan group coming across, but seeing those women and children who are abused and victimized. We're seeing drugs. We're seeing weapons. We're seeing each kinds of things coming crossed this peculiar portion of nan border," she said. "In fact, erstwhile we were touring it [Thursday], tons of trash everywhere. You tin show location person been a batch of group done there. So we deliberation that this barrier, this wall that nan Texas Facilities Commission will build, will thief to power that postulation and hopefully unopen it down."

Buckingham noted that it’s successful summation to different moves made by Texas, including a caller declaration of Fronton Island to beryllium authorities property, truthful that nan area tin beryllium secured from forbidden crossings.

"But we're excited to spot nan advancement made connected this ranch. We're excited that it will person a affirmative effect connected nan wide migration that's happening crossed our border, and that's what we want," she said.

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The move comes astatine a clip erstwhile migration and forbidden migration are apical topics for nan statesmanlike election. Former President Trump has promised to restart separator wall building if re-elected. Vice President Kamala Harris has put her support down a Senate separator measure introduced this twelvemonth that would see backing for separator agencies, including immoderate constricted separator wall construction.

Fox News' Emma Woodhead contributed to this report.