On Friday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott heaped praise on the state’s efforts to increase dangerous razor wire barriers at the southern border, a move which has set him at odds with the Biden administration in the past.
This praise followed a previous order Abbott gave to engineers to install what is known as “triple-strand” wire at the border.
Abbott’s Order
On July 23, Abbott took to the social media platform X to announce the order to triple the razor wire at border barriers on the US southern border, fulfilling an earlier threat to do so.
“There it is. We are tripling the razor wire border barrier. BIG thanks to the Texas National Guard & Guard sent from other states,” wrote Abbott.
What is Triple-Strand Wire?
Triple-strand concertina razor wire is a multi-layered barrier consisting of three sections of wire tightly bound and connected together.
In addition to making the barrier fence more dangerous, the extra layers also make it much harder for individuals to penetrate its defenses.
Praising Razor Wire
On August 16, Abbott posted a progress update detailing how the new barriers not just hinder but also stop migrants. He included a photo that showed triple-strand razor barriers being assembled and installed on the border.
“Texas is tripling razor wire barriers to STOP illegal immigrants from crossing the border,” Abbott wrote in an X post. “As Joe Biden and Kamala Harris turn a blind eye to the border crisis, Texas will deploy every tool and strategy to deny illegal crossings into our state.”
Press Release
In addition to emphasizing the effectiveness of the new razor wire barriers, Abbott released a statement on August 16 detailing all the actions Texas has done to keep the border safe.
“Governor Greg Abbott, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), and the Texas National Guard continue to work together to secure the border; stop the smuggling of drugs, weapons, and people into Texas; and prevent, detect, and interdict transnational criminal activity between ports of entry,” the statement said.
Razor Wire Progress
On August 15, Abbott asserted that a massive decrease in migrant crossings at the southern border is attributed to the state’s already ongoing razor wire efforts.
“The Texas National Guard has already built hundreds of miles of razor wire border barrier that has helped to decrease illegal immigration by about 85%,” said an Abbott X post. “Now, we are expanding that razor wire barricade even further.”
Eagle Pass Dispute
The area of Eagle Pass, Texas is one of the places due to get outfitted with the increased razor wire and has been the center of disputes between Texas, the federal government, and residents.
“There’s just no place to put razor wire,” Amerika Garcia-Grewall, founder of the Eagle Pass Border Vigil Coalition, told Border Report on August 14. “They’ve already enforced it and reinforced it.”
Fighting for Shelby Park
Garcia-Grewall is fighting to make the area of Shelby Park publicly accessible again after Texas officials have ramped up border security.
In January, a standoff between Abbott and the Biden administration ended with the Supreme Court granting federal agents permission to start removing razor wire near the Texas-Mexico border.
Razorwire Drawdown
This latest move from Abbott to reinforce razor wire after the border dispute with the federal government comes after several weeks of razor wire pullback.
“They’ve removed tons of concertina wire from islands. They’ve removed a lot of it from the shoreline of the river. They even went ahead and dug out the channel that used to be between what used to be an island and the bank where they had connected it and made it a peninsula. They’re doing some reparation,” said Jessie Fuentes, who manages a kayak company at the Rio Grande in Eagle Pass.
Criticizing Razor Wire
Critics of the governor online felt that Abbott should not be trying to defy the federal government when it comes to border policy.
“Wow you should be taking that down…federal government is responsible for the borders of America. Let border security do their jobs and get out of the way,” an X user wrote under Abbott’s post.
Biden Policy Failure
In the past, Abbott has defended his actions from these types of criticisms, blaming the Biden administration for failing what it necessary to defend the country.
“As opposed to detaining illegal immigrants, Biden has let them all loose, with no ability to accurately determine their whereabouts,” Abbott said during a February press conference at Shelby Park. “We’ve seen the catastrophic consequences of Joe Biden’s open border policy.”
Border Crossing Low
The latest data from US Customers and Border Protection shows that illegal crossings from the country’s southern border with Mexico dropped to an almost four-year low in July.
Both Abbott and Biden have sought to take credit for the decrease, as well as blaming their political opposition for the past problems securing the border.
