Texas has upped its support for the incoming Trump administration by offering additional land for deportation centers, part of an initiative named after a 12-year-old girl allegedly killed by illegal migrants, the New York Post reported.
Texas announced Tuesday that it is increasing its land offer to the Trump administration to construct deportation facilities targeting violent criminal illegal immigrants.
The initiative, named the Jocelyn Initiative, honors Jocelyn Nungaray, a 12-year-old allegedly raped and murdered by two illegal migrants and suspected members of the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang earlier this year.
Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham revealed the expanded proposal while standing alongside a section of the state's border wall.
"The new project that the General Land Office is going to embark on is the Jocelyn Initiative, in which we will locate appropriate land under my jurisdiction to lease for the construction of violent criminal deportation facilities," Buckingham said during the announcement.
"My office is standing by, ready to make this happen on day one of the Trump presidency," she said. "We are going to do everything in our power to ensure no other parent has to feel the pain that Alexis and Jaclyn are feeling right now."
Jocelyn's mother, Alexis, and grandmother, Jackie, stood alongside Buckingham during the announcement. Jackie expressed the family's support for the initiative, saying, "We're taking back power, we're taking back our peace, and we're taking back hope so that no other families have to go through what our family has gone through. This should've never happened."
Texas had previously offered the Trump administration a 1,400-acre border ranch to facilitate mass deportation efforts. Buckingham said the expanded offer is part of Texas' commitment to being a "good partner" in ensuring that violent criminals who enter the country illegally are removed.
Trump's pick for "border czar," Tom Homan, recently confirmed that the administration intends to utilize the land offered by Texas. Speaking to Fox News, Homan said the initial focus will be on deporting criminal illegal migrants and detailed plans to involve the U.S. military in "non-enforcement" roles to support the effort.
"The more non-enforcement work [the Department of Defense] can do releases more enforcement officers on the street to look for the bad guys," Homan explained.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has said that the state has already spent $10 billion to secure its border with Mexico under the Biden administration. At Tuesday's announcement, Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, expressed his intent to seek federal reimbursement for Texas' border security expenses.
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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