STARR COUNTY, Texas – Officials with the Texas General Land Office on Tuesday outlined plans for a ranch it has offered to the incoming Donald Trump administration for housing undocumented immigrants before deportation.
The 1,402-acre ranch is located in Starr County along the Rio Grande. Located 35 miles west of McAllen, Starr County flipped red for the first time in over 100 years during the Nov. 5 election.
During Tuesday’s press conference, Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham — and several state and national officials — celebrated the property and the first sections of a border wall actively being constructed there.
You can watch the full press conference in the video player below:
The GLO said it acquired the property on Oct. 23 and planned to build a border wall on the site.
“Today signifies the General Land Office’s continued efforts to assist our state partners to gain complete operational control of our border,” Buckingham said.
Buckingham sent President-elect Trump a letter on Nov. 19, which said her office is “fully prepared to enter into an agreement with the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement or the United States Border Patrol to allow a facility to be built for the processing, detention, and coordination of the largest deportation of violent criminals in the nation’s history.”
In the same letter, Buckingham also said the property’s previous owner refused to let the state construct a wall there and “actively blocked law enforcement from accessing the property.”
On Tuesday, she said, “In less than 24 hours of purchasing this property, we had the right of way done for the wall.”
Buckingham projected another mile of the wall would be built within the next week. The wall could be completed in a few weeks.
It’s unclear whether the incoming Trump Administration plans to take the commissioner up on her offer for the property.
During an appearance on Nov. 20 on Fox News‘ “The Ingram Angle,” Tom Homan, Trump’s pick to oversee border control, said he would use the land for the deportation program.
Homan briefly served as the acting head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement during the first Trump Administration. His new “border czar” role does not require Senate confirmation and would put him in charge of the country’s northern and southern borders.
On Tuesday, Buckingham said a facility on the property would be “the final stop” before deportation and reduce the burden on local jails.
“We are completely united with President Trump to rid our country of illegal, violent criminals,” Buckingham said.
During the press conference, Buckingham announced the office would extend the offer to Trump and Homan under a project called the Jocelyn Initiative.
The project is named after 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray, who was allegedly killed by two Venezuelan men in Houston earlier this year. Both men were issued capital murder charges, according to the Associated Press.
Buckingham said the office would “locate appropriate land” to lease for constructing separation facilities.
“My office has identified several of our properties and is standing by, ready to make this happen on day one of the Trump presidency,” Buckingham said.
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