Texas Paper Roasts Gov’s “Half-Baked GoFundMe” Wall

From the editorial board of the Austin Statesman:

No doubt Abbott is playing politics with his ludicrous gambit for Texas to build its own border wall, a half-baked, Go-Fund-Me effort that should make all Texans cringe. Still, Abbott’s acts of political theater at the border, advancing his 2022 reelection bid and possible White House aspirations, have costly implications.

Although he is inviting private donations for the wall, the governor is using real taxpayer money — moving $250 million out of the state prison budget — to get the ball rolling, starting with hiring a project manager. At his behest, officials have emptied the state prison in Dilley, about an hour’s drive southwest of San Antonio, so the facility can be used to detain immigrants who trespass across fenced areas or commit other transgressions — with Texas taxpayers funding that lockup, too.

Read the full editorial.