Laredo ‘Defund the Wall’ Mural Removed After City’s Funding Threatened

The mural in Laredo was painted in 2020 using private funds.

Cars drive over giant, yellow letters painted on Victoria Street in front of the federal courthouse in Laredo, Texas, on Aug. 18, 2020. William Luther/The San Antonio Express-News via AP

The city of Laredo in South Texas removed a mural saying “Defund the Wall” on Oct. 28 because of risks to funding if it remained.

The Laredo City Council voted the day before to remove the mural painted on the road in front of the city’s federal courthouse.

Laredo Mayor Victor Treviño said on Oct. 27 that he requested the vote after receiving a letter from the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) earlier in October directing the city to remove the mural or risk losing funding for roads.

“We’re not going to devastate our community for what is considered one particular vantage point on our public roads, even if this speech may be popular or well received,” he said.

Elsa Hull, a landowner who opposed the building of the border wall, told city council members that the state’s order to remove the mural was “bullies threatening [the] city.”

“This mural enabled the people to unite and stand against injustice and allowed us to keep our land, our homes, and our river from being taken away from us. This is part of our history. Don’t erase our voices completely,” Hull said.

The Trump administration in July asked governors to do their part to ensure their states comply with the Federal Highway Administration’s SAFE ROADS initiative.

“Roads are for safety, not political messages or artwork,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a statement at the time. “Today, I am calling on governors in every state to ensure that roadways, intersections, and crosswalks are kept free of distractions.”

In an Oct. 8 statement, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said he directed TxDOT to ensure that counties and cities comply with federal and state guidelines regarding roadway safety.

“Texans expect their taxpayer dollars to be used wisely, not advance political agendas on Texas roadways,” he said at the time. “Today, I directed [TxDOT] to ensure Texas counties and cities remove any and all political ideologies from our streets.”

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott speaks during a news conference in Austin, Texas, on August 15, 2025. Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Abbot warned that any city that refuses to comply with the federal road standards would face consequences, including the withholding or denial of state and federal road funding and suspension of agreements with TxDOT.

The mural in Laredo was painted in 2020 using private funds amid lawsuits and protests against the building of the border wall in the area. In 2021, federal officials terminated all remaining border contracts for the Laredo sector.

As a result of the Trump administration policy directive, political messaging and artwork have been removed from roadways across the nation.

In Florida, officials removed a rainbow-colored crosswalk outside the Pulse nightclub in August, where 49 people were killed in 2016.

In Washington, a large yellow “Black Lives Matter” mural that had been painted on a street one block from the White House was removed in March.

A rainbow-colored crosswalk that had been in Houston for eight years was removed earlier this month. Houston Mayor John Whitmire was critical of the Abbott administration’s directive but declined to challenge it, saying the city would likely lose.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.