AUSTIN — Today, Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham, M.D. held a press conference celebrating the commencement of border wall construction on the General Land Office’s (GLO) newly-acquired 1,402-acre ranch along the Rio Grande at Starr County's border with Mexico. She additionally announced the creation of “The Jocelyn Initiative,” in which the GLO plans to locate all land under the agency’s jurisdiction that the federal government can use for the deportation operations of violent, criminal illegal immigrants.

"As Texas Land Commissioner, tasked with overseeing over thirteen million acres of state land, I do not mess around when it comes to ensuring the safety of our families and communities," said Commissioner Buckingham. "Texas has borne the brunt of the Biden-Harris Administration's disastrous open border policies and too many of our sons and daughters have fallen victim to heinous activity at the hands of illegal criminals. I am not only dedicated to enhancing border security in our state, as displayed by the authorization of the building of this wall on state-owned land; but I’m also committed to use every tool at my disposal at the GLO to safeguard Texans from the violent criminals the current administration has welcomed into our nation.”

 Commissioner Buckingham delivers remarks at a press conference on GLO land where a 1.5 border wall is currently being constructed on Tuesday, November 26, 2024

The construction of the border wall comes two weeks after the GLO acquired the ranch along the Rio Grande in Starr County, on October 23. Less than 24 hours later, on October 24, 2024, Commissioner Buckingham signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Texas Facilities Commission (TFC), granting them authorization to begin border wall construction.

Commissioner Buckingham was honored to stand beside Alexis and Jacqueline Nungaray the mother and grandmother of Jocelyn Nungaray, a 12 year old Houston girl who was killed by illegal criminals, as she announced the creation of “The Jocelyn Initiative.” This initiative extends her initial offer to the incoming Trump Administration of 1,402 acres of state land to include state-owned land the GLO has identified in El Paso and elsewhere in Texas for the critical task of deporting violent, criminal illegal immigrants from our country.

Commissioner Buckingham stands with Jocelyn Nungaray’s family to announce “The Jocelyn Initiative" on Tuesday, November 26, 2024

Commissioner Buckingham addressed the Trump Administration in her remarks and stated, “President Trump and Mr. Homan, I meant it when I said that I will do everything in my power to help this administration and that is why I am announcing our offer has extended beyond this property. Should you need land for a facility elsewhere in the state for the deportation of violent criminals, my office has identified several of our properties and is standing by, ready to make this happen on day-one of his presidency.”

Starr County is part of the Border Patrol’s Rio Grande Valley Sector. This border sector has recorded thousands upon thousands of migrant encounters and asylum-seekers crossing the Rio Grande from Mexico into South Texas since January 2021. Last year, Commissioner Buckingham declared Fronton Island, a 170 acre island located in Starr County, Texas land. Since being fortified by DPS and the Texas Military Department, crime on this border hotspot has dropped to nothing.

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