Texas governor is repurposing empty shipping containers for a makeshift Mexico border wall

Gov. Greg Abbott told Fox News the state has begun using empty shipping containers to plug gaps in the border between Texas and Mexico.

Abbott’s spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment from Insider but told trade publication Freight Waves that the state began repurposing the shipping containers in late October.

“We begin dropping these large containers that you see on 18-wheelers, you also see on these ships that are going across the ocean,” Abbott told Tucker Carlson on October 28. “We’re dropping them down on locations that could be crossings that would be used by these caravans to serve as a blockade to prevent them from coming across the border.”

Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, told Fox & Friends the containers are being used to “channel” migrants into areas with a higher police and Border Patrol presence, as the shipping containers could be difficult to scale.

The state is also deploying thousands of National Guard soldiers and Texas Department of Public Safety troopers, as well as using vehicles as barriers and putting up additional razor wire across the southern border, according to Abbott’s plan.

It is unknown how many shipping containers will be used or how the containers have been supplied.

In the past, Abbott has said that barriers are needed for about 733 miles of Texas’ 1,200-mile border with Mexico. In September, the governor signed a nearly $1.8 billion border security bill into law, which included as much as $750 million for the construction of a border wall between Texas and Mexico. Though the state has not completed any permanent portions of the border wall, Abbott has said he expects some portions will go up by the end of December.

Shipping containers have become a hot topic in recent months, as consumer demand spurred a shortage of containers that help transport 90% of the world’s goods.

In Southern California, over 500,000 containers are floating off the coast, waiting to dock and unload, while thousands of empty containers clog shipping yards and warehouses.

Source: Business Insider