In order to repay Texas for the expenses of border security operations and wall building during the Biden administration, Governor Greg Abbott is requesting more than $11 billion from the federal government.
Abbott asked for $11.1 billion in federal cash in letters to U.S. House and Senate leaders on Thursday to compensate the state for expenses incurred during Operation Lone Star and for building a border wall since 2021. Mostly blaming former President Joe Biden’s border security policies for leaving Texas “defenseless,” the letter, which was also addressed to Texas’ congressional delegation, demands that state officials spend billions of dollars.
“The burden that our State has borne is a direct result of a refusal by the federal government to do its job,” Abbott wrote in his letter.
Texas has made substantial efforts to strengthen border security since the Biden administration tried to stop funding and construction of border walls. In 2021, Abbott announced a disaster declaration that extended to over 50 counties along the U.S.-Mexico border, enabling the state to impose harsher trespassing fines and send National Guard troops for Operation Lone Star.
A table detailing how the $11 billion was spent, including $2.3 billion for Texas state troopers and $3.6 billion for National Guard deployment, was included with the written request to Congress. According to the letter, 4,200 soldiers are currently stationed at the border, and during peak periods, up to 10,000 of them were there, resulting in over 50,000 criminal arrests.
The majority of the estimated $4.8 billion was allocated to building border walls, dealing with illegal trespassers, and moving migrants “out of small Texas towns.” In the letter, Abbott explained that the construction of the border wall alone cost roughly $3 billion. The letter states that more than 100 miles of the wall have been constructed since 2021, with the cost to the state ranging from $17 million to $41 million per mile in fragmented pieces across six counties. However, only roughly 50 miles of the border wall has been verified as finished as of November 2024.
The Eagle Forward Operating Base, the first military installation along Texas’ southern border, also received more than $116 million. In 2024, officials projected that the installation, which started housing National Guard personnel in May, will save roughly $11.5 million a month in state lodging expenses. The base currently costs $14.5 million a month to run.
Rep. Cole Hefner, a Republican from Mount Pleasant, introduced a resolution in the Texas House shortly after Abbott’s proposal, asking the state Legislature to demand the $11 billion from the federal government as well.
The use of federal monies for Texas’ border operations is not novel, but the request itself is. Operation Lone Star has already received almost $1 billion in government funds through a number of minor transfers to the governor’s office and reallocations from the Coronavirus Relief Fund through the Cares Act. Additionally, the request comes after President Donald Trump praised Abbott for his border security efforts for many minutes during a speech on Monday.
referring to the border as the “number one” issue facing the country Trump has been taking broad actions to stop both legal immigration and border crossings since he took office, Monday.
