Texas Governor Greg Abbott says the federal government will reimburse the state for more than $11.1 billion in taxpayer money spent securing the southern border during former President Joe Biden’s administration. I am requesting that.
Abbott, who sent a letter to members of the U.S. Congress on Thursday, said the Biden administration’s “refusal to work over the past four years” has resulted in a crisis at the southern border.
“President Biden’s policies will strengthen Texas and other American policies against the unprecedented infiltration of violent criminals, known terrorists, and other hostile foreigners, like the dangerous Venezuelan gangster Tren Aragua.” I left it behind,” the governor wrote.
House Republicans introduce bill to reimburse billions of dollars to secure borders
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has called on the federal government to reimburse his state for more than $11 billion in taxpayer money spent on border security over the past four years. (Reuters/Callaghan O’Hare)
In response to the federal government’s lack of action at the border, Abbott launched Operation Landstar 2021, which deployed the Texas National Guard and Texas Department of Public Safety to the U.S.-Mexico border in March 2021.
Operation Lone Star has reduced illegal immigration to Texas by 87% over the past four years, Abbott said, adding that his efforts have put a national spotlight on the crisis.
The governor said the operation resulted in the arrest of more than 500,000 illegal immigrants, halted more than 140,000 illegal attempts to enter the United States, made more than 50,000 criminal arrests, and resulted in more than 5 billion fatalities. It stated that fentanyl was seized. Constructed more than 240 miles of border barrier and established the only National Guard base along the Texas-Mexico border.
“In short, Texas stepped up where the federal government refused and in doing so protected all Americans from President Biden’s dangerous policies,” Abbott wrote.
House Republicans renew push to reimburse Texas for ‘Operation Lone Star’ border security push
Although he is proud of the operation, Abbott said its success comes with a high price tag of more than $11.1 billion.
In a cost breakdown document, Abbott said that before the Biden administration, Texas spent about $800 million every two years to supplement federal efforts at the border.
An illegal immigrant passes through a coil of razor wire while crossing the US-Mexico border in El Paso, Texas, in March 2024. The wires were placed by the military as part of Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s “Operation Lone Star.” To Texas. (John Moore/Getty Images)
“The burden our state is bearing is a direct result of the federal government’s refusal to do its job,” Abbott wrote. “The work Texas has done through Operation Lone Star is protected and will continue to benefit the entire nation.”
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House Republicans have introduced legislation in the past that would require Texas to reimburse billions spent on border security, but it has not passed into law.
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