exclusive: Texas is offering the incoming Trump administration more than 1,400 acres of land to carry out a mass deportation operation when the administration takes office in January, as the transition team begins preparations for the ambitious project.
Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham sent a letter to President-elect Donald Trump asking him to provide the Starr County land the state purchased from a rancher in October. The 1,402-acre property is located in the Rio Grande Valley near the border.
A letter to Trump obtained by FOX News Digital said his office is “not prepared to enter into an agreement with the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or U.S. Border Protection that would allow construction of the facility.” It's fully equipped.” Processing, detaining, and coordinating the largest deportation of violent criminals in the nation's history. ”
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This image shows drone footage from a ranch in Starr County. (Texas General Land Office)
“What I'm concerned about is that we have safe communities, and we're having too much trouble with violent criminals coming across the border,” Buckingham said in a Fox News Digital interview Tuesday. There is no doubt that many children are being lost.” “I am 100% behind the Trump Administration's commitment to rid our country of these criminals, and I am willing to provide resources to expedite the deportation of these violent criminals.”
The Texas General Land Office purchased the land in October to facilitate construction of additional border wall, a project the Biden administration has canceled. Officials say drug smuggling and human trafficking were rampant in the area, which was a ranch before being taken over by the state of Texas.
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In light of President Trump's election victory this month, Buckingham said he has been brainstorming with his team and has decided to make a proposal to the incoming administration.
“Right now, it's basically farmland, so it's flat and easy to build on. You can easily set up a detention center there to hold criminals when they're taken out of the country,” she said. said. “We have convenient access to the international airport and major river crossings, so we are happy to work together and do everything we can to remove this heinous criminal from our land.”
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Trump repeatedly promised during his 2024 presidential campaign to launch a historic large-scale deportation operation. In the days since the election, those plans have been put into action, with authorities considering where additional detention space could be built.
For more information on the border security crisis, click here
Buckingham said this election proves that the American people supported President Trump's approach to border security and illegal immigration, and rejected the Biden administration's approach.
“This election was a shocking referendum on the fact that Americans want safe communities. We want people to immigrate legally and only legally, and “It questioned the fact that four years of this administration's policies have failed all Americans,” she said.
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Trump's plan is likely to face opposition in other states, including Arizona, Illinois and Massachusetts, which have indicated they will oppose the Trump administration's deportation efforts. However, this will not stop the next government from operating.
FOX News' Emma Woodhead contributed to this report.
