When President Joe Biden took office earlier this year, he signed 17 executive orders on his first day. One of them halted construction on President Donald Trump’s border wall along our southern border.
It left billions of dollars of work unfinished, but under contract, the AP reported at the time. Now, some companies that were building the barriers are repairing environmental damage the construction caused.
But not all of the land along the U.S.-Mexico border is federally controlled. A lot of it, particularly in Texas, is in fact privately owned by families who have often lived there for generations. And that’s where some new border barriers could be built if Texas Gov. Greg Abbott gets his way.
Abbott, a Republican who is running for reelection, has made border security a top issue and has taken in private donations to fund the new barriers.
Uriel García is a reporter for the Texas Tribune who has been reporting on the companies in the running for the lucrative contracts.
The Show spoke with him to learn about these companies.
