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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has made a hardline stance in defending his state from overwhelming illegal immigration coming in from Mexico. Now, however, it seems he’s expanding his defense to include immigration from other states.

A new wire barrier was installed on the banks of the Rio Grande, specifically between the borders of Texas and New Mexico. Abbott explained his decision on Sunday, saying on X:

Our barriers around El Paso (Texas) forced the migrants crossing illegally to enter into New Mexico. They then enter into El Paso from there. To that end, we are building a barrier on the New Mexico border.

Democrats weren’t happy with the decision.

The chairs of the Texas and New Mexico Democratic Party issued a joint statement in which they criticized Abbott’s “Operation Lone Star stunt” and said it would be damaging to migrants and the environment. Republicans contend the measure is necessary to keep out not just illegal migrants, but deadly fentanyl and terrorists as well.

But Texas is still dealing with the immigration crisis within, specifically in the form of the migrant land development known as Colony Ridge.

Residents in the area surrounding Colony Ridge have expressed disdain for what the development has created. Nearby residents say it has stretched resources for schools and law enforcement and created a dangerous environment overall. One resident even likened the area to living in a third-world country.

The development boasts that it does not require credit or a Social Security number to buy land and that potential residents can use a foreign identification instead.

The developer for Colony Ridge said the intention of the development was to provide land to those who “couldn’t buy anywhere else.” However, the community has become quite a danger to U.S. citizens as it has been leveraged by drug cartels.

While Texas handles the brunt of immigration, other cities across the U.S. are dealing with the crisis in their own ways.

The state of Illinois decided to help cover costs for temporary housing of illegal immigrants in Chicago by providing $9,000 to immigrants to cover housing costs for six months. The idea is to provide them with this time frame to start their legal process and secure legal work authorization.

These payments follow a huge $7.2 million payout from the city to staff already overflowing migrant shelters.