LIVE: Texas Official Offers 1,400-Acre Ranch for Illegal Immigrant Detention Centers

And then, so one right there, and then one right there, and then there and there, right? Thank you all so much for coming. We are going to kick off the press conference here shortly. Afterwards, there'll be an opportunity for one-on-one questions with the Commissioner and any of the elected officials who are willing to answer any questions. Afterwards, if you all want to hang around, we'll come and get you all one by one over to my left. Thank you so much. Hello, everyone. I'd like to recognize the elected officials who have joined us today. We have, if you want to stay and wave, we have Congressman Chip Roy. We have State Rep. Angelia Orr. We have State Rep. Carrie Isaac. We have State Rep. Nat Schlotzling. We have State Rep. Mark D'Orazio. There you are. We have Chairman Ryan Guillen. Good to see you, sir. We have Senate Elect Adam Hinojosa. We have House Rep. Elect Hillary Hickliffe. We have Don McLaughlin. We have Pat Curie. We have Katrina Pearson. We have Shelly Luther. We have Rep. Wes Burdell. We have Mark LaHood. And we have Rep. A.J. Lauderback, Denise Villalobos, Mike Olcott, Andy Hopper. And with us today, we have Zapata County Sheriff Ray Mundo. We have Star County Major Carlos Delgado. And we have Star County Chief Larry Fuentes. Thank you. Good morning. Hello, everybody. I am Dr. Dawn Buckingham, your Texas Land Commissioner. And it is a joy and a pleasure to be with you on this exciting and auspicious day. Before we begin, I'd like us to take a moment from of silence for the children that we have lost to the brutality of those who have come across the border. Please join me. Thank you. As a mom, surgeon, and the first female land commissioner, I am dedicated to the prosperity and safety of our communities every day. I steward 13 million acres, fund education, and care for our coast and our veterans. I believe we should serve those we're supposed to serve and do it well. I love every square inch of Texas and will defend it with the full strength of my office. It wasn't long ago that we made Texas bigger for the first time in a couple hundred years by declaring islands in the Rio Grande as Texas. That's right. Through Operation Flat Top, the Texas Military Department, DPS, cleared the islands, removing caches of drugs, weapons, and untold numbers of trafficked individuals. The success of this operation is unquestioned. Today signifies the General Land Office's continued efforts to assist our state partners to gain complete operational control of our border. Behind me stands the first section of the state wall to be constructed on this property. It is my promise to all Texans that as land commissioner I will do everything in my power to stop the pain and suffering that has been happening on this property. The previous owner would not allow law enforcement on this ranch. She would not allow the wall to be built on this ranch. It stayed at the height of all of the violence. The top property for trafficking, for people coming across, for drugs, always in the top section. But that will no longer be tolerated. In less than 24 hours of purchasing this property, we had the right-of-way done for the wall. Within a couple weeks we had broken ground. And guess what? We are going to build a mile of this wall in the next week and we're going to be done in the next couple of weeks. So I say it with love, if you want to get it done and you want to get it fast, Texas knows how to do it right and put a woman in charge. So we will continue to fight to ensure that our state remains a beacon of hope, justice, and dignity for all who call Texas home. To quote Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, we are witness to the greatest sin of the modern era. The hundreds of thousands of missing migrant children and the horror they must be experiencing. But the second greatest sin of the modern era is allowing repeat offenders back out onto our streets, permitting them to commit heinous crimes against our sons and daughters. Take for example the loss of our own children like Jocelyn Nungaree, Lakin Riley, and Elizabeth Medina. No longer will the rape and murder of our sons and daughters be tolerated. We are completely united with President Trump to rid our country of illegal violent criminals. As many of you are aware, I have extended an offer to President Trump and incoming border czar Tom Homan to use this 1,400 acre property to construct a facility for the processing, detention, and coordination effort of what will be the largest deportation of violent criminals in our nation's history. A facility here will be the final stop for processing before these violent criminals are deported. This will reduce the burden on our local jails and keep our Texas children safer. 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'm announcing our offer has been extended beyond this property. At this time, I'd like to bring up Jocelyn Nungaree's mom, Alexis, and grandmother Jacqueline. Please help me welcome them. So we have an exciting announcement. The new project that the General Land Office is going to embark in that I have created is the Jocelyn Initiative in which we will locate appropriate land under my jurisdiction to lease for the construction of violent criminal deportation facilities. My office has identified several of our properties and is standing by ready to make this happen on day one of the Trump presidency. We are going to do everything in our power to ensure no other parent has to feel the pain that Alexis and Jacqueline are feeling right now. We have seen what happens when sanctuary cities release illegal immigrants back onto the streets. The monsters who took the life of Jocelyn have been caught in El Paso but were soon let out and made their way to Houston and committed an unspeakable crime. Another example is the of Lake and Riley whose murderers have been arrested multiple times including for endangering a child. Time and time again he was released and went on to rape and murder another American daughter. This stops now. With the help of our local, state, and now after four years, our federal partners, we can continue to deal major blows to the cartel's influence over south Texas. By working together, we will significantly reduce illegal immigration, end the trafficking of deadly drugs, and keep Texas families safe. I'm Dr. Dawn Buckingham, your Texas Land Commissioner. I love my job. I love every inch of this state and I'm committed to keeping it safe and prosperous for the future. Please help me welcome Alexis to the stage for Hello everybody. I really, I really appreciate Mrs. Buckingham to allow me the opportunity to have me and my mom here to speak in honor of Jocelyn who is no longer here anymore. It means the world to me to know that Jocelyn has touched millions of hearts, millions of people she's never met, and every day it's a struggle. Every day it's hard. Some days are easier than others, but it never takes away the fact that she's not here anymore due to heinous people who were let in this country to do what they did to her. As much as I wish I could change the past and take it back and even take her place, I can't do that and everything happens for a reason and there's a reason I'm up here and standing and speaking because my goal is to get justice for Jocelyn, but to make a change for every other child in this state, in this nation, to not have any more families go through what me and my family are going through. We can make change and we can do and make a difference and Jocelyn's voice was ripped away from her unfortunately, but mine is still here so I will forever, for as long as I live and breathe, forever shout her name, say her name, and do whatever I can in my power to make her death prevail and have way bigger purpose than what it has ever became. Thank you. I'm Jackie. I'm Jocelyn's grandmother. I was her meaning as my beautiful girl, as our family has now become everybody's beauty and the outpouring of support and love that we have received that I've never fathomed. You know, my baby always talked about wanting to be famous and her name is everywhere now to make sure her legacy lives on and respecting him. Thank you for this honor and allowing us to be part of this because this shows we're taking back power, we're taking back our peace, and we're taking back hope so that through what our families go through because it shouldn't ever happen forward to the future because we didn't have a future. Hopefully it'll become brighter and we can just continue living through Jocelyn and make sure her legacy just lives on. Thank you everybody. Thank you ladies. I think we need they deserve another round of applause. I tell you what, the strength of a mom is incalculable, right, and how much we love our babies and that's what we're really here today about is protecting our babies from the violent criminals that are coming across and keep being released back out into the public. Next for comments, I'd like to have the spokesperson and National Vice President of the National Border Patrol Council, Chris Cabrera. Please help me welcome. Good morning. My name is Chris Cabrera. I am the Vice President for the National Border Patrol Council. You know, the stories we've heard are all too common. They're happening quicker and quicker, and unfortunately this administration has made stuff like this possible and more common. Something needs to be done. It's unfortunate that we've gotten to this stage, but thankfully we have a new administration coming back into the White House, and we can get back to work. You know, the men and women that I represent are ready to get back to work. We're ready to work with this new administration and take back what belongs to this country and get this job done. We're ready. I know the state of Texas has done great things. They've stepped up and done what the federal government has failed to do. As a federal employee, it's kind of a thorn in my side. It's kind of embarrassing that the state has to come in and do our job, but as a Texan, I'm very proud to see that the governor has stepped in and done what needed to be done. And you can always tell he's doing the right thing when the administration is trying to stop him, trying to sue him for doing what should have been done in the first place. But rest assured, the men and women that I represent will be ready come January 20th to get back to work and do what we need to do to get it done. Thank you. And next, this person needs no introduction, this shy introvert. No, I'm just teasing. Congressman Chip Roy, come join us up here. Well, good morning, everybody. I had to check what time of day it is. Dawn, thank you. Thanks for your leadership. Thanks for what you're doing, bringing this great group of Texans and leaders and the state legislature from down South Texas and across the state so that America can see and all the people that are watching the news can see that Texas takes this seriously. Obviously, we are thankful to the Lord Almighty that there's help on the way in January. But Texas has been the state that has stood in the breach. And it is 12, 13, 14 now billion dollars later. And we've got some work to do in DC, I got to tell you, and make sure that Texas gets paid back. Because Texas shouldn't have had to do the job. Texas shouldn't have had to do the job that Chris pointed out. The guys at Border Patrol, the guys at ICE, they all wanted to do their job. Let's be very clear why we're here. We're here because the Biden administration, still in office, still in power, still the United States has utterly refused to do his job to secure the border purposely, intentionally, and has released millions of people onto the streets of this country, including dangerous criminals, people who are known or suspected terrorists. And as a result, Americans have died, and Americans are dying. That is why President Trump was swept into office. That is why Republicans were given the trifecta in Washington. That is why the legislature is growing here in Texas. And it is now why it is our duty, our job to get the job done in January. No excuses. I don't want to hear one excuse from any Republican across this great country about why we don't do our job to secure the border of the United States. And yes, deport the millions of people that were released unlawfully, and frankly, purposely into the United States. That's our job, and we ought to do it. One final point I want to make, why I came down here. I've gotten to know Alexis over the last several months. I just want everybody to put in perspective and think that it's mid-late November. It was just four months ago that she lost her daughter, just a little over four months ago. And I met Alexis when she came to testify at a House Judiciary Committee hearing. And it was one of the more courageous testimonies I've ever seen and witnessed since I've been in Washington and in politics. And she sat there in front of the House Judiciary Committee, and she testified. And some of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle wanted to diminish the testimony. And then some people who were running campaigns wanted to diminish that Alexis was willing to speak out and speak out about the actual political reality of what this election was about. I can't say enough what an inspiration she's been and how much you are truly honoring your daughter by doing what you're doing to stand up to do what is right for our country. We sat in the back of the House Judiciary Committee room and sat in the back conference room and talked for a while. And we talked about her history, her family's history, coming to this country and wanting to live the American dream, but do it the right way, to follow the law, to not look for handouts or for government to do something, but to come here, because that's why migrants want to come here. They come here for the rule of law. They come here so you can achieve the American dream, not to have government walk away from both of those things, the rule of law, and making sure that we're not giving out handouts and things that undermine what it means to succeed in this country. We talked about that. And I'm just deeply appreciative of Alexis and her mom for being here today and being here with Dawn. And I'll just close with this. This country is only as good as our respect for its sovereignty and who we are as a people. The vice president-elect, J.D. Vance, who's a friend of mine, likes to remind people that when people say that America is an idea, that's not enough. We're not just an idea. We're a nation. We're a nation of people, a nation of communities, a nation of laws. And we're brought together to carry out the American dream I was talking about before for our kids and our grandkids. And you can't do that if you undermine our sovereignty as a people. People say, well, just deport the criminals. Well, hold on a second. We have people in this administration lawlessly dumping people into this country. We have now 51.5 million foreign-born, the highest percentage we've ever had in our country's history. We've got to take a step back and remember that we've got to protect this country and make sure that it will exist for generations to come. And you do that by securing it with physical structures, but also enforcement of the law. We must, and this to all my colleagues in Washington, as I said before, no excuses. We must pass permanent changes to law. We must make it to where no president can ever do what this president has done to this country. We must reverse the damage of the Biden administration. We must stand up, particularly the Texas delegation and defend this state along with the great people in the Texas legislature, our great land commissioner, our governor, our lieutenant governor, and all the great people of this state. It's an honor to serve. It's an honor to be here. Thank you, Dawn. God bless you all. So much, Congressman. Thank you all for joining us. May God bless Texas. Take care. So again, for one-on-one interview questions, if y'all want to line up along this fence here, we can pull you guys in one by one. Thank you. Oh my God, this lighting.