AUSTIN — Today, Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham, M.D. sent a letter to the incoming Trump Administration offering over 1,400 acres of newly acquired General Land Office (GLO) state land in Starr County, Texas, for the construction of deportation facilities and staging areas to carry out the Trump Administration’s plans to deport illegal immigrants beginning in 2025.

"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 GLO to use every tool at my disposal to gain complete operational control of our southern border," said Commissioner Buckingham. "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."

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

Starr County is part of the Border Patrol’s Rio Grande Valley Sector, which has recorded approximately 1.4 million migrant encounters crossing the Rio Grande from Mexico into South Texas since January 2021.

Read Commissioner Buckingham’s Letter to President-Elect Donald J. Trump by clicking the button below:

Commissioner's Letter to President-elect Donald J. Trump

Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham, M.D., brings a lifetime of experience to the Texas General Land Office (GLO). In 2016, she became the first Republican elected to the Texas State Senate from Travis County and the first woman to represent Texas Senate District 24. She later made history again in 2022, winning a statewide election to become our state’s first female Land Commissioner.