Texas Pulls Plug on State Border Wall After $3 Billion Investment, Citing Federal Role

Texas has quietly ended its ambitious state-funded border wall project along the U.S.-Mexico border after spending approximately $3 billion, according to reporting from the Texas Tribune. The move comes four years after Governor Greg Abbott pledged that Texas would lead the nation in constructing its own border barrier.

On June 2, the Texas Legislature concluded its session without renewing funding for the project. Lawmakers instead redirected the $3.4 billion border security allocation in the state budget to the Department of Public Safety and the Texas National Guard—agencies tasked with apprehending undocumented migrants.

Senator Joan Huffman, chair of the Senate Finance Committee and lead budget writer, said the decision to defund the wall reflected a broader view that immigration enforcement falls under federal jurisdiction.
“It should have always been a function of the federal government, in my opinion, and that wasn’t really being done,” Huffman stated.

Despite Governor Abbott’s high-profile promotion of the project as a response to federal inaction, the wall’s physical footprint fell far short of its original scope. The state completed only 104 kilometers—just 8% of the 1,300 kilometers it initially set out to build. Nonetheless, that total is three times greater than the 34 kilometers constructed by the federal government during the first Trump administration.

The cost of the wall was staggering: $29 million per kilometer. The 10-meter-high barrier was built largely on land that the state could easily acquire—primarily rural ranches—rather than in areas with high traffic of unlawful crossings, such as urban corridors.

Observers noted that the Republican-controlled legislature reduced the program’s scope without holding a public debate, indicating a quiet pivot away from a controversial policy cornerstone.

The future of the Texas wall initiative now rests with the federal government, though fully realizing the project would require an estimated $20 billion over 30 years, according to the Texas Tribune.

While the state’s physical wall construction has ended, Texas leaders have emphasized continued investment in other forms of border enforcement, including surveillance, personnel, and local cooperation efforts. The shift underscores a broader transition in immigration policy—one that distances Texas from hard infrastructure in favor of strategic support roles.

The border wall’s legacy, however, remains sharply debated in political and public spheres, especially as immigration continues to drive national discourse.

Originally reported by David Rogers in Construction Dive.