McALLEN, Texas (AP) — Texas is offering a parcel of rural ranchland along the U.S.-Mexico border to use as a staging area for possible mass deportations under President-elect Donald Trump.
The property, which Texas originally purchased last month, is located in rural Starr County in the Rio Grande Valley. Republican Dawn Buckingham, the Texas land commissioner, sent a letter to Trump on Thursday extending the offer.
The land supply is the latest example of a sharp divide between states and local governments over whether to support or oppose Trump’s plans for mass deportations of migrants living in the U.S. illegally. On Tuesday, the Los Angeles City Council voted to become a “sanctuary” jurisdiction, limiting cooperation with federal immigration authorities in carrying out deportations.
Texas leaders have long supported aggressive measures at the border to curb crossings, including erecting razor wire barriers and passing a law last year that would allow law enforcement to arrest migrants who cross illegally.
“By offering this newly acquired 1,400-acre property to the incoming Trump administration for the construction of a facility to process, detain and coordinate what will be the largest deportation of violent criminals in our nation’s history, I am agree with the president. Donald Trump to ensure American families are protected,” Buckingham said in a statement.
Trump has said he plans to begin his deportation efforts on the first day of his presidency. During his campaign, he regularly attacked illegal immigration, linking a record spike in unauthorized border crossings to problems ranging from drug trafficking to high housing prices.
There are an estimated 11 million people in the country illegally. Questions remain about how people would be identified and where they would be held.
The president-elect’s transition team did not say whether they would accept Texas’ offer but sent a statement.
“On day one, President Trump will use all his might to secure the border, protect their communities and launch the largest mass deportation operation of illegal immigrant criminals in history,” said Karoline Leavitt, Trump’s transition spokeswoman and vice president-elect . J.D. Vance, said Wednesday.
The Texas General Land Office did not respond to a request for comment on the amount paid for the land, but the commissioner said the previous owner opposed the creation of a border wall.
A 1.5-mile border wall was built on that land in 2021 under Republican Gov. Greg Abbott. Buckingham said with the recent purchase, the state has created a new easement for the construction of more border walls.
