State Senator to Introduce Bill to Help Texas Secure Border

CHARLESTON, WV (LOOTPRESS) – State Senator (7th) and candidate for West Virginia Attorney General Mike Stuart has proposed a bill that would authorize the West Virginia Secretary of Homeland Security to provide direct support to Texas Governor Abbott and the Texas Border Patrol including costs for razor wire and other materials related to securing the border.

“President Biden’s open border policies have failed America and the people of West Virginia. This crisis is not only a Texas problem. It’s a West Virginia problem,” said Stuart. “We need to stand with Texas and Governor Abbott. We cannot allow Texas to stand in defense of the nation on its own.”

U.S. Border Patrol agents and U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers encountered 176,294 migrants in January, compared to a whopping 302,034 in December, an all-time high for one month, according to CBP data. The number of migrant encounters at the Southwest border last January was 157,358. Since October 1, 2023, border authorities have encountered nearly 1 million illegal entries at the southern border.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott vowed Sunday to expand the controversial razor wire fencing his state erected along the border, days after the US Supreme Court ruled the Biden administration could rip it down.

“President Biden has abandoned his constitutional duty to protect our country by his refusal to secure our southern border. The Secretary of West Virginia’s Department of Homeland Security must be authorized to work directly with government officials in Texas to provide as much support as possible to secure the border,” said Stuart. “

“If it’s razor wire they need, West Virginia’s Secretary of Homeland Security should have the authority and the budget to send it by the truckload,” said Senator Stuart. “Concrete. Sand. Security cameras. Rebar. Steel mesh. We need to have Governor Abbott’s back as we proclaim, “Don’t mess with Texas or West Virginia.” We stand strongly with Texas in its defense of the border.”

In addition to introducing a bill to support Texas border security, Stuart is the lead sponsor on a Resolution in support of Governor Abbott and Texas’ right to defend the border. It is anticipated that resolution could be taken up as soon as this week in the State Senate.

“The opioid crisis? I spent years working on the front lines supporting law enforcement, leading raids, prosecuting poison peddlers, and embracing moms and dads at the point of their greatest grief,” said Stuart. “Much of that grief begins at the Texas border. We need to help Texas do whatever it needs to close that border immediately.”