"Build the wall", so the supporters of the former President Donald Trump still shout at rallies today.

The Republicans do not want to give up the project of a continuous border wall with Mexico even now.

Texas would prefer to build it on its own - at least if Governor Greg Abbott has his way.

Abbott wants to raise part of the costs itself: 250 million dollars are to come from the state budget.

For the rest, the Conservatives have now set up a crowdfunding website.

So now private donors and the state of Texas are supposed to finance the “wall” that Donald Trump once promised - even if the federal government is actually responsible for immigration policy and border protection.

Abbott told the conservative podcast "Ruthless" that "people all over the world" could soon donate to the border facility thanks to the Internet. 

Bulwark against the unwanted

Trump had promised in the 2016 election campaign that Mexico would pay the bulwark against unwanted immigrants. He later diverted billions of dollars from the defense budget instead, which were intended for other construction projects and the fight against drug-related crime. His government eventually built more than 700 kilometers of border fences - most of them reinforced or replaced existing facilities in Texas and Arizona.

There have been difficulties with private landowners in Texas.

The “wall”, as Trump's supporters imagine it is not just a billion-dollar project.

It also comes with significant legal and legal challenges.

Large parts of the border area belong to private owners who would have to be expropriated and compensated in order to implement the project according to Trump's original ideas.

Completing Trump's political legacy

Even so, Governor Abbott is convinced that it will be politically useful for him to declare himself steward of Trump's political legacy in matters of border protection.

He will "do the job" that the former president started, said the Republican.

He has commissioned experts with a cost estimate and will soon also provide details about the planned construction work.

Abbott also wants to negotiate with private landowners on the Rio Grande over the use of the land for the "wall", he said.

In view of the increasing number of immigrants, he will also strengthen the police force in the border towns.

Civil rights organizations pointed out that the "Wall" project could be delayed or stopped by legal means - not to mention the financial problems that it would bring for Texas.

David Donatti of the American Civil Liberties Union called Abbott's announcement in the New York Times "political theater," which was only there to retain conservative voters.

They can actually often be motivated by the topic of immigration. 

So far only theatrical thunder

A previous attempt by Trump supporters to privately finance the “wall” failed spectacularly.

By mid-2020, Air Force veteran Brian Kolfage and his non-profit organization “We Build the Wall” raised more than $ 25 million from donors and used it to build a nearly three-mile long fence.

The organization's board of directors included Erik Prince, founder of the mercenary company Blackwater, and Trump's former chief strategist Steve Bannon.

The project stalled due to disputes in court - not least because the risk of erosion and flooding on the Rio Grande had been ignored.

The fundraisers were eventually charged with fraud in New York - they are said to have diverted a significant portion of the money into their own pockets.

Trump then distanced himself from the plans of his former confidante Bannon.

He seems to consider the action of his fellow party member Greg Abbott to be more promising.

Trump plans to visit the Texas border area again soon.

He wants to show his supporters that he still wants to fight for the “wall” - after all, it was one of his most important campaign promises in 2016.

In recent weeks, authorities have reported particularly high numbers of migrants arriving at the southern border.

Last month, the border guards met 180,000 people who either wanted to apply for asylum or a visa, or who wanted to go further north without valid papers.

According to the border guard administration, there were more than two decades ago.

"Don't come."

In January, 74,000 people came from Latin America, often fleeing hunger, poverty and violence. Because under Biden the number rose so sharply that even experts speak of a crisis, conservatives accuse the new government of failing to protect the border.

Most of the democrats in Biden's government and in Congress, however, do not advocate left-wing or “progressive” immigration policy, but continue the line of several previous governments: Undocumented migrants are to be deterred with aggressive rhetoric and raids, even at work - but if they are in the country, they will tolerated as cheap workers and contributors to the social system, but their rights as workers are practically not protected. The more than ten million so-called “illegal” immigrants have lived in the United States, some for decades.

Vice President Kamala Harris recently reiterated that no fundamental change in course is to be expected from the new administration either. During a visit to Guatemala in early June, she appealed to migrants from there: “Don't come. The United States will continue to enforce the law and secure the borders. "