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During Dallas Visit, GOP's Greg Abbott Unveils $300 Million Border Security Plan

Doualy Xaykaothao
/
KERA News
Republican Greg Abbott speaks during a Dallas stop Tuesday for his gubernatorial campaign.

Greg Abbott, the Republican attorney general and candidate for governor, stopped in Dallas Tuesday to unveil a $300 million border security plan that would also target domestic violence and sex crimes.

Speaking to a Dallas nonprofit that helps victims of child sex trafficking, Abbott argued that the federal government has failed to secure the Texas border.

“Powerful and ruthless international cartels and violent transnational gangs are operating within our state,” Abbott said. “Even within our prison system. And narco-related cross-border crime is on the rise.” 

He laid out his plan:

“As governor, I will almost double the spending for DPS [Department of Public Safety] border security. I’ll add more boots on the ground, more assets in the air, and on the water, and deploy more technology and tools for added surveillance.”

A spokeswoman for Abbott's Democratic opponent, Wendy Davis, responded that the price to taxpayers would be too high. That border shield would come at the expense of taxpayers, a spokeswoman for Democratic opponent Wendy Davis.

“Now what that sounds like to us," said Davis spokeswoman Rebecca Acuna, "is the same type of political rhetoric that’s coming from the candidates in the lieutenant governor's debate, who say 'stop the invasion.'”

The back and forth came as new fundraising numbers were released Tuesday. They showed Abbott raising more than three times as much as Davis during the first three weeks of the year. 

Doualy Xaykaothao is a newscaster and reporter for NPR, based in Culver City. She returned to NPR for this role in 2018, and is responsible for writing, producing, and delivering national newscasts. She also reports on breaking news stories for NPR.