It is not the "ideal plan" for Texas to move forward to complete the border wall, but it's needed because the federal government is backing out of a commitment it should meet, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said on Newsmax Tuesday.
"This is plan B and it's expensive," Paxton said on Newsmax's "National Report," adding that the plan is to protect citizens because the U.S. government won't.
"I applaud Gov. (Greg) Abbott," Paxton said. "He's taking bold action here, and he's taking action that will actually protect our citizens long term, not just Texans, but really, the whole country."
Paxton said Abbot has met with landholders with property near the border, and they said "for the most part" that they are ready to protect the country.
"Every landowner isn't going to want to participate, but that's why we have eminent domain and the ability to pay them," said Paxton.
He also said that building a wall will be a long-term solution, not like some of the Trump administration's policies that President Joe Biden dropped.
"It's worked in other places," he said. "I think it'll work in Texas, but we have a long way to go, you know, to finish the wall that's along a massive border."
Meanwhile, if Biden follows through on revoking the use of Title 42, which allows the United States to keep migrants from entering the country because of the COVID-19 pandemic, that will further serve to increase border crossings and continue the problems that started when Biden took office, the attorney general said.
"Everything the Biden administration has done since day one when they announced that they would not deport anyone coming across the border in the first 100 days, including if they revoked Title 42, has increased immigration, illegal immigration," said Paxton. "It would not surprise me if they did not follow COVID protocols. They lean toward just continuing to open up the border and that's what they have done since day one."
It is apparent that the "most important thing for them to do is to get as many people across the border as fast as possible, rather than protecting citizens from crime disease," said Paxton.
Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump is planning to visit the border next week, and Paxton said the visit will heighten media attention, which the Biden administration does not want.
"I think this is a great step towards giving the American people another view of the disaster the Biden administration has created," said Paxton. "I applaud Trump for taking the time to do this, even though he's not the president. He will make a significant difference in helping to educate the American people and what's actually happening at the border."
Note: See Newsmax TV now carried in more than 100 million U.S. homes, on DirecTV Ch. 349, Dish Network Ch. 216, Xfinity Ch. 1115, Spectrum, U-verse Ch. 1220, FiOS Ch. 615, Frontier Ch. 115, Optimum Ch. 102, Cox cable, Suddenlink Ch. 102, Mediacom Ch. 277, AT&T TV Ch 349, FUBO and major OTT platforms like Roku, YouTube, Xumo, Pluto and most smart TV’s including Samsung+, Sony, LG, Vizio and more – Find All Systems that Carry Newsmax – Click Here