Texas officials offer 1,400 acres to help Trump build deportation facilities

 Texas officials have offered 1,400 acres of land for President-elect Donald Trump to potentially build deportation facilities on, according to a letter reviewed by CNN.

Trump made large scale deportations a cornerstone of his campaign. He has promised to crack down on immigration as well as mass deportation of undocumented people.

The letter from the Texas General Land Office, sent by Commissioner Dawn Buckingham, said that the state had recently acquired land in Starr County, along the border near Rio Grande City.

Buckingham wrote her office is “fully prepared” to enter into an agreement with federal agencies and said the facility would be “built for the processing, detention, and coordination of the largest deportation of violent criminals in the nation’s history.”

According to the letter, the land’s previous owner had “refused” a border wall to be built and blocked law enforcement from accessing the property. Now that the land belongs to Texas, Buckingham said wall construction will begin.

“As Texas Land Commissioner and steward of over 13 million acres, it’s been my promise to all Texans since assuming my role at the General Land Office to use every tool at my disposal to gain complete operational control of our southern border,” Buckingham wrote.

“This is why I am offering President-elect Trump over 1,400 acres of state land on the southern border to aid his administration in carrying out their deportation plans to place the safety and well-being of all Americans first and foremost.”

In an interview on Fox News on Tuesday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott was asked about the offer to provide land for Trump’s deportation plans, and Texas’ other measures to crack down on immigration.

“We’re not letting up at all,” Abbott said. “We are continuing our efforts. Tomorrow morning we are going to be putting more buoys into the river, doing more to deny illegal entry into the state of Texas.”

Abbott also said that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency had been “sidelined” under President Joe Biden, but that they would be “put back on the field under President Trump.” These efforts aim to send a message to any immigrants hoping to illegally cross into the US that they would be “subject to deportation,” he added.

CNN has reached out to the Trump transition team, the Department of Homeland Security, and Abbott’s office.