Four years after Governor Greg Abbott pledged to build a state-funded border wall, Texas lawmakers have silently defunded the project, leaving behind a costly and incomplete patchwork of fencing that spans only a fraction of the state’s southern border.
Approved in the final hours of this year’s legislative session, the new state budget allocates $3.4 billion to border security. However, not a cent will go toward continuing wall construction. Instead, the funds are being directed to the Department of Public Safety and the Texas National Guard, key players in Abbott’s Operation Lone Star, which focuses on arresting and deporting migrants, as reported by The Texas Tribune.
So far, Texas has spent over $3 billion to complete just 65 miles of wall, roughly 8% of the 805 miles initially targeted. With only enough leftover funding to finish 18 more miles, no new construction projects are expected to begin.
The Texas Facilities Commission, which oversees construction, previously stated a goal of building at least 100 miles by the end of 2026. That now appears unattainable. Executive Director Mike Novak declined to comment on the change in direction.
Despite its high cost—approximately $28 million per mile—the wall’s placement has raised concerns about its usefulness. Investigations revealed that most sections have been built in rural areas, far from the urban centers where illegal crossings are more common. Experts and critics alike say the wall was often built where land could be acquired, not where it would be most effective.
One major barrier has been land acquisition. Almost all land along the Texas border is privately owned, and the Legislature has barred the use of eminent domain for this project. As of March, nearly a quarter of property owners had declined to participate, blocking about 41 miles of potential wall.
A Republican-backed bill to allow the state to seize land for wall construction died in committee this session, further stalling expansion efforts.
Gov. Abbott initially championed the project with high-profile announcements and even a public donation campaign, which raised $55 million. However, the online donation portal was quietly removed after May 29, and the state has kept specific wall locations undisclosed. Reporting has shown the wall consists of fragmented sections in just six counties between Del Rio and Brownsville.
National efforts haven’t fared much better. During Donald Trump’s first term, despite his emphasis on building a border wall, only 21 miles were constructed in Texas. His current focus appears to have shifted toward mass deportations rather than further wall building, although one federal contract for a seven-mile segment in Hidalgo County was awarded this March.
Recent data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection indicates that illegal crossings have dropped significantly since peaking in late 2023. Monthly crossings have stayed below 13,000 since February 2025, a 90% decrease from two years prior.
Some Republican lawmakers have recently voiced skepticism about the cost and impact of the state wall. Senator Bob Hall questioned whether lawmakers were spending “a whole lot of money to give the appearance of doing something.” Senator Charles Perry likened the ongoing investment to “being on a hamster wheel,” warning that Texas must eventually “draw a line in the sand.”
For now, that line no longer appears to include concrete and steel.
