(EDITOR’S NOTE: This story has been updated with new information from Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham)
McALLEN, Texas (Border Report) — The State of Texas is offering President-elect Donald Trump a newly acquired border ranch in rural Starr County for the new administration to build deportation facilities to help it carry out its campaign immigration promises.
Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham on Tuesday sent Trump a letter offering him 1,400 acres for the construction of deportation facilities and a staging area to carry out his massive deportation plans for undocumented immigrants in the United States.
“We said, if there’s something we can do to help, we sure want to do that. We have this property, should the federal government need it for a detention and deportation center, we’re again happy to get into an agreement with them and be helpful any way we can,” Buckingham told Border Report on Wednesday.
“We think the removal of viral, violent criminals that have been hurting our sons and daughters is key to the safety and the prosperity of our country, and it’s been tolerated way too long, them staying here,” Buckingham said via zoom from Austin. “We’ll do whatever it takes to keep our country safe.”
“As Texas Land Commissioner and steward of over 13 million acres, it’s been my promise to all Texans since assuming my role at the GLO to use every tool at my disposal to gain complete operational control of our southern border,” she said.
The state purchased the purchased the ranch on Oct. 23 with the intent for Texas to build a 1.4-mile border wall along the section bordering the Rio Grande.
She tells Border Report that ground has been broken for the 30-foot-tall border wall and construction is underway at the ranch.
And regardless whether Trump accepts the offer, or not, she says the wall will be built.
“It’s in full swing, so we’re excited about that,” she said.
The ranch is not contiguous with the 1.7-mile segment of border wall the state first built in Starr County, but it is close to the area, which is outside of La Grulla, Texas.
Last month, shortly after the land purchase, Buckingham said the rest of the ranch would be used to continue to farm row crops, like corn, sorghum, cotton and onion. On Wednesday, she said she believes the ranch is big enough to hold the border wall, detention facilities and grow crops, if the Trump administration permits.
“My office is fully prepared to enter into an agreement with the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or the United States Border Patrol to allow a facility to be built for the processing, detention, and coordination of the largest deportation of violent criminals in the nation’s history,” Buckingham wrote in her letter to Trump.
“I am committed to using every available means at my disposal to gain complete operational security of our border,” she wrote.
Buckingham last month told Border Report her agency purchased the ranch after trying to acquire the land for a while because of reports that the area is notorious for sexual assaults of migrant women and children by Mexican drug cartels and human trafficking organizations.
“A lot of terrible things were happening there. The owner of the property was not amenable to letting law enforcement step on her property or the wall being built. Of course, none of us love eminent domain, so to resolve that conflict and to get the wall built more quickly, instead of a big eminent domain fight, we just made her a fair offer, and she accepted it,” Buckingham said.
“We’re just so excited to have this property. We think it’s so incredibly important for the safety of our communities to shut down this trafficking, this mass migration of illegal immigrants, and get our community safe again,” Buckingham said.
She said the agency bought the land for an unspecified amount with mineral revenue, with the approval of two independent boards.
The General Land Office also that week purchased land near the city of Marathon in Brewster County. It also has a small segment of riverfront property that Buckingham told Border Report would be used to build more state border wall.
She said her agency toured with Border Patrol recently several GLO properties to get a feel for whatever Texas-owned lands would be of help to he Trump administration with its immigration goals..
“We were out with Border Patrol last week looking at all of the properties, seeing where there are places that we can help with the crossings, and seeing what needs to be done. And we’re currently in the process of developing a comprehensive plan for that property,” Buckingham said.
The Starr County property is ideal, she said because of its topography, and location — 35 miles from McAllen’s airport.
“We really felt like this is an ideal location. The ground is flat. It’s accessible to airports as well as, of course, a major crossing across the river. And so we feel like it’s a good spot, plenty of space, and if it’s a if it works for the Trump administration, we want to be a good partner,” she said.
Buckingham says her agency plans to visit the Starr County ranch next week. And she hopes then will know if Trump’s team is interested.
“We did just send the letter yesterday, so we haven’t heard anything yet. But we do hear through the back channels that they are taking it into consideration as they develop their plan for the entire country,” she said.
Sandra Sanchez can be reached at SSanchez@BorderReport.com.