Texas Gov. Abbott wants $11 billion reimbursement for border security

[Ray]

Texas Governor Greg Abbott is asking the federal government for $11 billion as a reimbursement for the border security measures he implemented during the Biden Administration. Abbott said it would cover the costs the state has incurred since 2021 when he implemented Operation Lone Star. 

Abbott wrote in a letter to Congressional leaders “President Biden’s policies left Texas and the rest of America defenseless against an unprecedented infiltration of violent criminals, known terrorists, and other hostile foreign actors. I launched Operation Lone Star (OLS) to combat these threats to all Americans.” 

Abbott gave a cost breakdown of different measures he implemented: 

• $3 billion to construct 100 miles of border wall and deploy buoys in the Rio Grande
• $58 million on 200 miles of concertina wire and border fencing
• $6 billion on personnel deployment, including 10,000 National Guard soldiers and Department of Public Safety troopers. 

There are still 4,200 Texas National Guard soldiers stationed at the border. There are 2,500 active duty military personnel in the region and on Wednesday the Defense Department announced it is deploying 1,500 more. They will install physical barriers and assist with air and intelligence assets. 

Abbott says his operation led to an 87% reduction in illegal crossings along the Texas border. He said all together, Texas law enforcement have arrested more than half a million immigrants in the country illegally and prevented 140,000 crossings. 

Congress would need to include the money in either the government funding package or a supplemental funding package. They could also repurpose some money that has already been allocated for border security using budget reconciliation. That would technically be easier because it only requires a simple majority in the Senate, rather than 60 votes, meaning Republicans could do it by themselves.