Who controls the southern border? The state of Texas and the federal government are in a battle over that question. Texas Governor Greg Abbott has ordered a floating barrier in the middle of the Rio Grande, and the Biden Administration is suing and demanding its removal.
The department of Justice says the buoys are an immediate danger to people and the environment. That barrier also violates the law since there is a process that governs the border river. Abbott says that doesn’t matter because Texas is in an emergency, and it’s being invaded. It should be pointed out that the so-called invasion of migrants is not violent, or connected to a political agenda, and they are not planning on toppling the United States government.
Texas Public Radio’s David Martin Davies traveled to Eagle Pass this week to report on how this issue is playing out locally and also across the country.
Abbott’s Wall
Governor Greg Abbott is building a border wall, and Mexico is certainly not paying for it. Texans are footing the bill, and when it’s complete, the border barrier is expected to cost about $20 billion.
So far about 5 to 7 miles have been completed, but the wall-building process is expected to soon accelerate.
There is little to no oversight for the spending of the billions of dollars, and a few questions are being asked about whether this strategy is even going to work to prevent illegal immigration or if there are cheaper and better ways to do that.
Justin Millier is a reporter for the Texas Observer – his article is Abbott’s Billion Dollar Border Barrier.
Tangles
If not border walls, then what? How do you keep people from crossing the border illegally?
There are high-tech solutions to border security, and one is monitoring cell phone activity. This is something that Operation Lone Star is capable of doing with the purchase of a software package called Tangles.
But there are mounting concerns and questions about how the software is being used. Is there proper oversight? Are Texans also being targeted by Tangles—in violation of their privacy and civil rights?
The nonprofit investigative newsroom – the intercept – found out about Tangles. Sam Biddle is a technology reporter for The Intercept. The article is “Texas State Police Purchase Israeli Phone-Tracking Software for “Border Emergency.”
