Likely Republican nominee for Texas governor Greg Abbott has announced his campaign’s platform for securing the 1,300-mile Texas-Mexico border. The plan would cost $300 million and also target domestic violence and sex crimes.
While speaking to a Dallas nonprofit that helps victims of child sex trafficking, Abbott said the federal government has failed to secure the Texas-Mexico border.
He promised as governor he would add more than 1,500 Department of Public Safety state troopers assigned to the southern region of Texas.
“As governor I will almost double the spending for DPS Border Security, I will add more boots on the ground, more assets in the air and on the water and deploy more technology and tools for added surveillance," Abbott said.
Abbott said the initial cost will be more than $300 million, which will be taken from the state’s general revenue fund, but he says that would eventually be offset by seizures of money going back into Mexico.
“If you look at the number of dollars being seized and if you know how the asset-forfeiture laws work, a lot of that money is going to get plowed right back into this program," he said.
Abbott’s plan also includes more money for cross-border prosecution and anti-border gang centers in seven Texas cities.
Abbott is expected to face off against presumed Democratic nominee Wendy Davis in the governor’s race.
A spokesperson for Davis said the proposed border shield is more political rhetoric and it would come at the expense of taxpayers while achieving little.
