Texas Gov. Greg Abbott requests $11.1B from Congress for border security efforts

Texas Governor Greg Abbott is calling on Congress to reimburse Texas for efforts to secure the border during the Biden Administration.

Gov. Greg Abbott seeks federal reimbursement for border efforts

EAGLE PASS, TEXAS - FEBRUARY 4: National Guard stands behind Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and fellow Governors as they hold a press conference along the Rio Grande at the U.S.-Mexico border to discuss Operation Lone Star and border concerns on Sunday, Febr

Governor Abbott sent letters to Congressional leaders and the Texas Congressional Delegation on Thursday.

He called for the federal government to pay back $11.1 billion that was spent on Operation Lone Star, Texas' border security effort.

In the letters, the governor says it is the federal government's duty to secure the nation's borders and that Texas stepped up when the Biden Administration refused to do so.

Related

Texas places more buoys along Rio Grande after Trump's inauguration

Texas Governor Greg Abbott posted video of the large buoys going into place at the Texas-Mexico border.

Costs cited by Abbott included $58 million for concertina wire and border fencing and almost $3 billion for the construction of over 100 miles of border wall and the deployment of buoys.

What they're saying:

"The burden that our State has borne is a direct result of a refusal by the federal government to do its job. The work that Texas has done through Operation Lone Star has protected and will continue to benefit the entire country," Gov. Abbott wrote. 

By the numbers:

In the letter, Gov. Abbott included a funding breakdown of Operation Lone Star.

  • $4.75 billion - Border wall, other border barriers, local border security grants, processing criminal trespass arrests, relocation of migrants
  • $3.62 billion - Personnel costs deployment of National Guard soldiers
  • $2.25 billion - Personnel costs Texas state troopers
  • $311.2 million - Anti-gang intelligence
  • $77.3 million - Court costs for prosecution of border crimes
  • $62.6 million - Personnel costs game wardens
  • $32.8 million - Health and safety services at criminal processing centers
  • $19.2 million - Investigation and prosecution of vehicle thefts along Texas-Mexico border
  • $13.7 million - Human trafficking interdiction by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission
  • $10 million - Removal of brush to improve visibility for law enforcement
  • $5.2 million - Prosecutions by the Attorney General for crimes relating to human trafficking

Operation Lone Star 

The backstory:

Governor Abbott launched Operation Lone Star in 2021.

The program deployed state resources, including more than 10,000 members of the state National Guard and troopers from the Department of Public Safety, to the southern border.

Gov. Abbott claims that Operation Lone Star has led to more than 50,000 criminal arrests and repelled more than 140,000 illegal entries into the state.

The governor says that in the past four years, Operation Lone Star has reduced illegal immigration into Texas by 87 percent. 

Shortly after President Trump's inauguration, the president complimented Gov. Abbott on the work the state had been doing at the border.

The other side:

Immigration rights groups have argued that Operation Lone Star is not effective.

The ACLU released a 2024 report claiming that nearly 70 percent of the arrests were for misdemeanor charges, like trespassing.

The same report found that the program mostly prosecuted people from the United States.

Some residents in border communities have opposed the law enforcement presence in their area.

FOX 26 Houston's Jonathan Mejia talked to residents in Eagle Pass, Texas about the occupation of Shelby Park, which is now closed to the public.

 "Shelby Park being taken by soldiers... we used to have our public events there, and we certainly miss it," said Wendy Garcia.

Gov. Greg Abbott's letter to Congress

Dig deeper:

Governor Abbott sent letters to U.S. Congressional Leadership and the entire Texas Congressional Delegation.

You can read the letter here.

The Source: Information in this article comes from the Office of Governor Greg Abbott, the ACLU and past FOX coverage.

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