The Texas House state committee has approved a $1.5 billion proposal to allow Gov. Greg Abbott to continue building border barriers along different parts of the 1,900-mile border between Texas and Mexico. The state House Appropriations Committee voted 14-9 in favor of House Bill 6.

The bill is sponsored by Republican state Rep. Jacey Jetton, who argues that building more border barriers is a necessity due to the increase in the number of migrants crossing the border. Jetton says voters are eager for a secure border and would not object to spending $1.5 billion on building a border wall, according to a report in the Texas Tribune.

The proposal allocates the money to continue paying contractors to build an additional 80 kilometers of border barriers, adding to the 64 kilometers planned since September 2021. The rationale for the construction is the historically high number of encounters between migrants and U.S. Border Patrol agents at the southern border.

However, Democratic lawmakers have expressed concerns about the high cost of the proposal and questioned its effectiveness. They sought to know if there is a strategic plan that justifies the expenditure and evaluates the effectiveness of the barriers.

According to the article, the bill also raises questions about the effectiveness of border barriers. Some argue that walls can slow people down, allowing agents to act, but they don't address the underlying causes of immigration. Experts point out that the walls do not completely prevent people from crossing the border, but they can serve as nationalist symbols and monuments to those who wish to stop illegal immigration.

“Meanwhile, the federal government has made moves to build more border barriers as well. Despite President Joe Biden’s campaign promises that ‘there will not be another foot of wall constructed in my administration’, some barrier construction has continued. Earlier this month, his administration said it plans to waive 26 environmental laws and regulations in order to ‘take immediate action’ to build a few miles of new barrier in Starr County. Biden told reporters that he was required by law to continue certain wall construction because Congress appropriated money for it. That appropriation occurred in 2019, before Biden took office”.

While the construction of border barriers remains a controversial and polarized topic in the United States, the debate over its cost, effectiveness, and impact on immigration continues to play a significant role in policy and public discussions.