VERIFY: What's happening at the US-Mexico border
Our VERIFY team is looking into who is crossing the border, what’s happening with drugs like fentanyl, and who will pay for Texas’ border wall.
Former President Donald Trump is expected to visit the Texas-Mexico border Wednesday. He is joining Governor Greg Abbott to discuss border security and the governor's plan to continue building a wall.
Border wall construction has stopped under President Joe Biden. Gov. Abbott is trying to pick up where former President Trump left off. The governor has already declared a disaster in several Texas border counties.
Border issues and illegal immigration are hot button issues used by both Democrats and Republicans, so at times, it may be difficult to know what exactly is happening at the border. That’s why our VERIFY team is looking into who is crossing the border, what’s happening with drugs like fentanyl, and who will pay for Texas’ border wall.
Fentanyl seizures spike
Building a border wall in Texas is the key to stopping drug traffickers. That's part of Gov. Greg Abbott's pitch to Texans.
"In just first four months Texas DPS had 800 percent increase in amount of fentanyl,” the governor said.
So let's VERIFY: has DPS seen an increase in fentanyl seizures?
Our source here is the Texas Department of Public Safety.
They sent us data for the last three years. In the first four months of 2020, DPS seized 10.6 pounds of fentanyl. Through April of 2021, Troopers seized 94.5 pounds.
That is nearly a 794 percent (793.9) increase year to year. It’s a little less than the governor’s claim but, the fentanyl problem at the border is worsening.
Our source here is Border Patrol Agent Julie Diaz.
"It would be an over 1,000 percent increase for fentanyl," Diaz said.
The Rio Grande Valley sector has seen a huge spike year to year, and so have agents across the southern border.
CBP seized 1,745 pounds of fentanyl through May of fiscal year 2020. Through May of 2021 that number now 7,039 pounds.
That is a 303 percent increase.
That's already nearly more fentanyl intercepted at the border than the last three years combined.
Illegal border crossings increase
The rhetoric about the US-Mexico border is reaching a new fever pitch.
“We believe in law and order and this state and by God we're going to deliver," Gov. Greg Abbott said.
The governor says Texas needs a border wall because the southern border is a disaster zone.
"Last April when President Trump was president they apprehended just over 17,000 last year,” the governor said. “This year they apprehended more than 170,000. That's a 1,000 percent increase.”
So let's VERIFY: "Are illegal border crossings on the rise under President Biden?"
Our source: Data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
From March to May of this year, Border Patrol arrested 514,901 people crossing illegally. That's already more than all of fiscal year 2020 combined.
In April 2020, under then President Trump,16,182 were arrested. This April under President Biden - it's exploded to 173,686.
That's a 973 percent increase.
Gov. Abbott’s numbers are slightly off but his claim illegal crossings are up in this new administration, we can VERIFY is true.
The governor also claims who is crossing has changed, too.
"Early on it was unaccompanied minors now a majority are adults coming across alone," he said.
Let's VERIFY.
Do single adults now make up the majority of border crossers under President Biden?
CBP data shows 636,892 single adults have been arrested crossing the border this fiscal year. That’s compared to 78,513 unaccompanied minors.
Yes, that's clearly a majority.
But if you look closer, single adults were also a majority of crossers in 2018, 2019, and 2020 when President Trump was in charge.
So Gov. Abbott's numbers are accurate, but his claim about when this change started, we can VERIFY is false.
Paying for the Texas border wall
Gov. Greg Abbott has promised Texas a border wall but those do not come cheap. Lawmakers estimate it could cost $26.5 million per mile.
For now, the governor says Texas will provide $250 million as a down payment to get things going.
"That's a quarter of a billion dollars and is more than enough to hire project managers and to begin building wall," the governor said.
KHOU 11 viewer Beverly Rosenbaum wants to know where exactly is that money coming from?
Our sources are the governor's office and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. The funds will come from the state budget.
This is the letter signed by the governor on June 16 sent to TDJC. It lets them know $250 million will be transferred from TDJC's 2023 budget and into a disaster account.
From there it will be moved to the Texas Facilities Commission for border wall construction.
"These are Texas taxpayer dollars that Texans should not have to be paying for because the federal government has a legal responsibility under the federal immigration laws to do it," the governor said.
So bottom line, we can VERIFY it's Texas taxpayers footing the bill for this multi-million dollar down payment.