As you know, Raul Reyes and I just completed a trip to our border — Del Rio, Texas — last week. Here’s the video from that journey where we pointed out many of the issues the Rio Grande Valley is facing:
Thus, it was good to see this today via Fox News:
“Construction on a new border wall in Texas where none previously existed has begun along the Rio Grande river, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) confirmed to Fox News on Friday.
While 75 miles of wall has already been built under the Trump administration, until now all of those structures replaced existing ones such as vehicle barriers or dilapidated fences, which were ineffective before being replaced, according to the agency.
The brand-new wall is under construction southeast of McAllen in Texas’s Rio Grande Valley sector, which sees the most illegal crossings of any border sector, with more than 325,000 people apprehended there through August this year, according to CBP.
“Rio Grande Valley is by far our busiest sector, so getting this new wall system capability down there for [the agents] is truly a game-changer,” a CBP spokesman said. “Just last week, the agents on the frontlines told us the wall is something they need.”
The spokesman said the 75 miles already built to replace weaker structures also helped tighten security.
“People can walk through or across a vehicle barrier with drugs or other contraband, but can’t walk through an 18- to 30-foot wall with anti-climb features, sensors and cameras,” the spokesman said.
The announcement comes as the Trump administration is making a renewed effort to show voters the U.S.-Mexico border wall remains a top priority.”
The Rio Grande Valley is exactly where LTC Reyes and I were, and earlier this year, I toured another spot mentioned in this post, McAllen, Texas. You can read about that trip here.
I can attest to the conditions in both Del Rio and McAllen, and am pleased to see this construction beginning. We have much more work to do, but for now, #PromisesKept!
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LTC West is running for Chair of the Republican Party of Texas! To support his efforts, please visit his campaign website!
Political advertisements paid for by LTC Allen West for State Chairman
During his 22 year career in the United States Army, Lieutenant Colonel West served in several combat zones and received many honors including a Bronze Star, three Meritorious Service Medals, three Army Commendation Medals, one with Valor device, and a Valorous Unit Award.
In November of 2010, Allen was elected to the United States Congress, representing Florida’s 22nd District.
West is a commissioned officer in the Texas State Guard. He’s Fox News Contributor, former Director of the Booker T. Washington Initiative at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, Senior Fellow at the Media Research Center, contributing columnist for Townhall.com, and author of Guardian of the Republic: An American Ronin’s Journey to Family, Faith and Freedom, and, Hold Texas, Hold the Nation: Victory or Death, and the forthcoming We Can Overcome.
