Building a wall on the border between the United States and Mexico was the centerpiece of former President Donald Trump’s immigration policy.

It was popular with its supporters, but only about 450 miles of the wall was built.

Now Texas is up to the challenge.

Governor Greg Abbott announced on Wednesday that the state will build the wall and earmarked $ 250 million – apparently from the Department of Criminal Justice budget – to start.

Abbott said the wall will be built on state land and “donated” and will be partially funded by donations.

The governor says a wall is needed because President Joe Biden and his administration have “relinquished their responsibility to enforce federal law to secure the border and enforce immigration laws.” He says Biden’s “open border” policy has seriously affected the health and safety of Texans.

Critics say it is a political coup by an ambitious Abbott, accusing him of wanting to win favor with followers of former President Trump. They also say that the cost of building a wall would be astronomical and it will probably never be completed.

We want to know what you think? Can Texas realistically fund and build a border wall? Should the state do it? Or is it just a politically motivated pipe dream?

Send your response (50 words maximum) to [email protected] before Wednesday June 30. You can also mail your response to the Texarkana Gazette Friday survey, to PO Box 621, Texarkana, TX 75504 or drop it off at our office, 101 E. Broad St, Texarkana, Ark. Make sure to include your name, address and phone number. We will print as many responses as possible in next Friday’s journal.

Question of the week: story or goal?

Last week’s question was about the refusal of the Texarkana Historic District Commission to let Beech Street First Baptist Church demolish a historic house the church owns. Does the city have a legitimate interest in bypassing the property rights of the church to preserve this structure? Or should the church be able to do whatever it wants with its property

It must be emphasized. Beech Street Church is one of the only churches to have invested millions in historic downtown buildings. Most of the rest moved north to build new buildings. Thank you Beech Street Church for keeping our heritage alive. – DP, Texarkana, Arkansas

From facebook.com/texarkanagazette

It is a historic building. They could sell it to someone else to preserve it and use the tons of money they don’t pay in taxes to buy new land to build on.

I am all for preserving history when possible, but under the rules for NATIONAL REGISTERED homes you can do with the property however you like, within the framework of local laws or ordinances. You are not required to maintain the property in a specific way; you can demolish the property without federal authorization. So it appears that the denial of a demolition permit is a local problem. Is the board prepared to give the church money to restore it? They exceed in my opinion.

Commission buys it and preserves it OR they move away and let the church tear it down

I don’t see the point of unnecessary conservation. There are a lot of places on the historic downtown strip that have caught fire and instead of blocking progress they need to move away. If no one was interested before, why stop some progress? I no longer want to abandon the building for attention once it catches fire or collapses. A proactive approach is more reasonable than reactive in this case

The property was sold to the church. Period! The church has exclusive rights over it and over said property. If the others, now interested, have a problem, it’s too late! There are countless buildings in TXK that meet the “historic title”, but nobody cares! Sit up or shout. The church bought the property with the intention of actually using the property. The city has done nothing since it was built in 1903.

It is a sad situation. It would have been an easier solution if the choice to preserve had been made before all doors, windows etc. had been sold. I don’t live in Texarkana, but I hate to see beautiful buildings destroyed. This building is just a shell of what it once was and could never be remade unless those who had what was in the house returned those things to it.

The commission has to buy it or let the church tear it down. The building is no longer able to perform its function, so demolish it or move it

If the commission has the $$$ to do the deed, buy it or back off. Do they know how much it would take to fix or do they just think saving it would be a lot nicer. In any case, I would like to know their thinking and why they came to this conclusion. Is there any way to find out?

The historical commission should have intervened before and since the church acquired it. If anyone could post the Texarkana Historical Commission mission here, that would be helpful. There are many historic sites in Texarkana and now that that is mentioned what are they doing and what are the plans for many of these sites? Especially when someone acquires a property? It is time to demolish this structure. No, the city has no legitimate reason to preserve this structure at this stage. Let’s move on. Let’s make Texarkana aesthetically pleasing and pretty again!

Texarkana has had some of the finest architectural exhibitions in this country. Instead of coming together to preserve these great buildings, the houses were left empty and shabby until someone bought them. Real estate investors generally want to be able to use the property. Well, the commission has to decide the value of a house before someone buys it. Either you want to preserve history for the greater good and do something with these houses and buildings, or you will have to let the owners decide.

I am 100% for the preservation of historic sites. But this building remained in its decrepit state for decades !! Ignored by the so-called Historical Commission. Then he was allowed to be removed, leaving only an empty envelope of his former glory. And NOW do they care? This ship has sailed. It would easily cost 300,000. + Dollars (and I think I estimate the low side) to restore it. Perhaps the Historical Commission should compile a PUBLIC list of sites it deems worthy of preservation and wage THESE battles. He’s not one of them.

Pay property taxes, but don’t spend a dime on maintenance. Condemn it and then they will force you to deconstruct it.

Unless they plan to buy it and restore it themselves, they shouldn’t have a say. The church owns it and should do as it sees fit.

I remember years ago Wadley Hospital was going to cut down an old oak tree to build the cancer center, and people started saving the tree! Well in the middle of the night someone poisoned the tree ending the discussion! A silver mine costs more than its value, just bring the bulldozers and more to ha!