Texas has begun building its own "wall" of huge steel bars on the border with Mexico, its Republican governor Greg Abbott said Saturday, accusing President Joe Biden of not doing enough to stop illegal immigration.
"Texas is taking what is really an unprecedented step by any state in the country," Abbott said, telling a news conference about construction of "a wall on our border to secure and safeguard the sovereignty of the United States and our own state."
Such a wall "is needed for one single reason, and that's because the Biden administration has failed to do its job," he said from Rio Grande City, speaking in front of a crane and steel bars.
The governor, who is said to have his own White House ambitions, denounced the "deadly consequences" of Biden's border policies.
"This border wall that you see behind us is a replication of the border wall that president Trump put up, same material, same concept," he added, referring to Biden's predecessor, Donald Trump.
Trump famously made the construction of a wall along the US-Mexico border a plank of his administration, though much of the 452 miles (727 kilometers) he managed to build over his four-year term was replacing existing barriers.
The work was halted when Biden took office in January this year.
The Democratic president has been criticized for his management of illegal migration, with some on the left denouncing what they say are the harsh policies still in place, and the right demanding even harsher ones.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
US Girl, 12, Dies After Parents Use Smoothies, Vitamins To Treat Injuries 24-Year-Old US Man Arrested For Giving 4-Month-Old Baby Gasoline To Drink This US School Has Banned All-Black Outfits Over Mental Health Concerns How Extreme Weather Is Leading To Rise In Child Marriages In Pakistan "Don't Expect Anything From Me": Kolkata Hospital's New Principal Loses Cool New Defence, Health Secretary In Top-Level Bureaucratic Reshuffle By Centre Man Arrested For Raising Palestine Flag On Independence Day: Cops Railway Recruitment Cell Invites Applications For 4,096 Apprentice Positions Ever Wondered What Happens To Foam In Space? Here's The Answer Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.