Texas House Gives Initial Approval To $1.5B Border Wall Bill

Immigrants walk along the fortified bank of the Rio Grande after crossing the border from Mexico into the United States as U.S. Border Patrol agents look on September 28, 2023 in Eagle Pass, Texas.

Photo: John Moore / Getty Images News / Getty Images

A bill to spend more than a billion-dollars to build 50 miles of wall at the Texas-Mexico border has the preliminary approval of the Texas House. House members approved House Bill 6 by an 84-61 party-line vote on Wednesday afternoon. Democrats fought the proposal but didn't have the votes to stop it. The bill must pass a second vote in the House before moving on to the Texas Senate.