Former State Sen. Don Huffines blasted Gov. Greg Abbott over Abbott’s calls to build a border wall.
On Friday, Huffines issued a statement blasting Abbott for his announcement that $397,000 had been raised to fund construction of the border wall. Huffines attacked Abbott, noting that the amount pledged by the state and the contributions received are not adequate to finance construction of the entire wall.
“Greg Abbott has been boasting on Twitter about the donations he has convinced patriotic Texans to contribute towards building a border fence,” Huffines said. “Abbott’s plan places the burden of building a border fence on donations from hardworking Texans. Given that each mile of an actual border wall costs about $46 million to construct, the $397,000 raised is only enough to build 52 feet of wall. For reference, the entire Texas-Mexico border is 1,254 miles—or 6.6 million feet—long. At this rate, it would take Abbott more than 2,000 years—or 145,000 weeks—to build a wall spanning Texas’ entire southern border. This is an embarrassment and yes, we did the math.”
Huffines went on to say the plan from Abbott is “unrealistic” and places the burden on Texans instead of cutting wasteful government spending.
“Abbott’s funding plan for a wall is not only unrealistic, but also insulting to hardworking conservatives who are so desperate for a secure border, that they are willing to donate even more of their hard-earned money to a wall after paying high taxes—including exorbitant property taxes. Texas needs a more immediate solution to the current border crisis that has reached historic heights on Abbott’s watch. When I am governor of Texas, we will cut the wasteful government spending that Abbott has prioritized year after year in his budgets, and put that money towards a wall. We will start building immediately, and won’t stop until the wall spans every inch of the crossable Texas-Mexico border.”