RIO GRANDE CITY 性视界传媒 Texas unveiled its newly acquired border ranch 性视界传媒 offered as the site of detention facilities to help the Trump administration with proposed mass deportations 性视界传媒 and Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham said Tuesday the state is looking to identify additional land to aid the federal effort.
The General Land Office has more than 13 million acres of land under its jurisdiction, Buckingham said.
性视界传媒淚f the Trump administration thinks it性视界传媒檒l be helpful, we want to be good partners with them,性视界传媒 she said.
The effort, known as the Jocelyn Initiative, is named for Jocelyn Nungaray, a 12-year-old Houston girl who was killed in June. Two Venezuelan immigrants who were in the country illegally have been charged with murder and sexual assault.
性视界传媒淲e will continue to fight to ensure that our state remains a beacon of hope, justice and dignity for all who call Texas home,性视界传媒 Buckingham said.
In an interview with The Dallas Morning News, Buckingham said her agency is not looking to buy additional land and added she wants to be supportive of the incoming Trump administration.
Buckingham, a former state senator whose agency manages state land, introduced the news media to the 1,402-acre ranch purchased by the state in October for $3.82 million, according to a purchasing agreement obtained by The News. She stood before a portion of border wall the state is building on the property.
The Starr County ranch is on the outskirts of Rio Grande City, a town of about 15,000 people 40 miles west of McAllen.
Buckingham said her agency bought the ranch after the previous owner refused to let the state build its border wall on the property. Buckingham criticized the former landowner Tuesday, saying her decision to block the border wall contributed to drug trafficking and illegal crossings into Texas.
Andrea Kate Sheerin, who sold the ranch to the state, declined to comment when reached via text message Tuesday morning.
About a dozen Texas House lawmakers 性视界传媒 including Rep. Ryan Guillen, R-Rio Grande City 性视界传媒 and U.S. Rep. Chip Roy of Austin joined Buckingham at the news conference.
Buckingham said the 1.5-mile section of wall, being built about one mile inland from the Rio Grande, is expected to be finished in the next week as part of Operation Lone Star, Abbott性视界传媒檚 immigration crackdown.
Trump性视界传媒檚 incoming border czar, Tom Homan, said on Laura Ingraham性视界传媒檚 Fox News show last week that the administration 性视界传媒渁bsolutely will性视界传媒 use the ranchland for detention facilities. He did not specify whether facilities to process migrants would be permanent or temporary, such as tents.
Homan and Abbott were scheduled to greet and serve Thanksgiving meals Tuesday afternoon to Texas National Guard soldiers and DPS troopers stationed in Edinburg, about 50 miles east of Rio Grande City.
