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Gov. Greg Abbott wants another $2.9 billion for border-security efforts

The money is included in the Republican’s budget proposals for the Texas Legislature to consider.

AUSTIN — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott wants lawmakers to add nearly $2.9 billion to his border security initiatives next year to continue or expand actions aimed at securing the border with Mexico, including installing more physical barriers and continuing a program that buses migrants out of Texas.

It’s the largest ask in the Republican governor’s appropriations request for the 2026-27 budget cycle, and it comes as illegal crossings into the U.S. have been steadily declining to levels not seen since President Joe Biden took office in 2021.

“Until the border is secured by the federal government, the office of the governor believes that overall funding for border security should not be decreased,” Suzanne Johnson, Abbott’s chief of administration, told state finance officials this week in a joint hearing with the Legislative Budget Board, which oversees the state’s $321 billion biennial budget.

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The requested $2.88 billion would cover two years of border security operations under Operation Lone Star, Abbott’s border security initiative – including busing, barriers, migrant-processing centers and one full-time employee to manage the funds, according to Abbott’s budget request.

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Abbott is also seeking $100 million for a public safety grant program supporting border communities and $69 million for anti-gang activities – a significant increase from the current budget’s allocation of less than $16 million.

Last week, Abbott directed state police to focus on a violent Venezuelan crime syndicate known as Tren de Aragua.

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“Under Operation Lone Star, Texas has allocated more than $11 billion of Texas taxpayer money for border security, deploying thousands of Texas National Guard soldiers and DPS troopers, transporting migrants to self-declared sanctuary cities, installing strategic barriers, and building our own border wall,” Abbott spokesperson Andrew Mahaleris said Friday in an emailed statement to The Dallas Morning News.

“Because of these efforts, Texas has decreased illegal crossings into the state by 87%, while in other border states crossings are up,” he said. “Because the federal government refuses to do its job to secure the border, additional funding of Operation Lone Star is crucial so Texas can continue utilizing every tool and strategy to respond to the border crisis and protect Texans.”

The requested money would be parked in the governor’s discretionary disaster fund because Abbott declared a state of emergency over the border situation in May 2021, around the time he launched Operation Lone Star, his multibillion-dollar border security initiative. The disaster declaration gives him broad control over how to spend money in the fund.

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Critics of the governor’s border initiatives say the funding request would give Abbott too much discretion over too much money — and that he spends those tax dollars on programs that are dangerous and ineffective.

“The governor tries to get away with this by declaring the border a disaster, and the only disaster that I know of is that we’ve allowed him to use public tax dollars recklessly like this without having responsible governance when it comes to fixing problems at the border,” said state Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, D-San Antonio, chairman of the House Democratic Caucus.

The funding request must be approved by the Texas Legislature when lawmakers convene in January to write the state budget for 2026-27. The GOP-dominated Legislature has supported Abbott’s previous efforts to direct state money to his border security programs.

Last year, lawmakers allocated more than $5 billion, spread over several agencies, for border measures — including $1.4 billion for Abbott’s disaster fund and $1 million for a border wall.

Lawmakers also directed nearly $750 million last session to the Texas Department of Public Safety to support the agency’s recent increase in involvement in border security operations.

The number of immigrants apprehended by the Border Patrol has been dropping steadily for the past six months, with a 68% decline in August 2024 compared with August 2023, according to recent numbers from U.S. Customs and Border Patrol.

The agency and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas attribute the decline to several factors, including a series of measures implemented by the Biden administration in June that resulted in stronger consequences for illegal crossings, work being done in countries were immigrants tend to come from, quicker movement of immigration cases through the courts, and new pathways toward citizenship for migrants.

In addition to the border money, Abbott is also seeking $698.5 million for the Texas Semiconductor Innovation Fund, $155.2 million for film incentives, $150 million to respond to natural disasters, and $115.2 million for a victim assistance fund.