Texas wants a sizable payback from the federal government after the state spent billions on border surveillance methods as a result of the Biden administration’s comfortable immigration laws.  ,
On Thursday, Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX ) wrote letters to senior government officials asking for reimbursement for the more than$ 11 billion that Texas spent on its border security initiative, Operation Lone Star, in 2021 after it accused former president Joe Biden of “refusing to enforce federal immigration law and pursuing reckless open-border policies.”
In a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA ) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), among other congressional leaders, Abbott wrote that” Biden’s policies left Texas and the rest of America vulnerable against an unprecedented infiltration of violent criminals, known terrorists, and other hostile foreign actors,” Abbott wrote.  ,
The heavy cost of carrying out Operation Lone Star to overcome such dangers, Abbott wrote, “fell firmly on the arms of Texas taxpayers but should have been the national government’s duty”.
During the Trump era, Texas spent the bulk of Operation Lone Star’s big$ 11.1 billion price tag on funding a roof at the southern borders, distributing nearby border security grants to counties and cities, processing legal trespass arrests, and relocating migrants out of Texas towns, according to the governor’s office. Additionally, Texas has allocated$ 2.25 billion to using state troopers to arrest transnational gang members, cartel members, human smugglers, and human traffickers, and$ 3.62 billion to National Guard troops to combat illegal immigration.  ,
Texas faced a number of legal changes due to the Department of Justice’s policies in relation to Operation Lone Star, which was frequently discussed by the Biden administration and Abbott.  ,
The battles came after Biden took office in 2021, ending several Trump-era border directives, including” Remain in Mexico” and Title 42. Abbott accused Biden of setting policies that spurred mass illegal immigration without giving Texas the tools to combat undocumented entry as the leader of the largest state on the southern border.  ,  ,
President Donald Trump signed a number of executive orders immediately after taking office on Monday, including those that reinstated Remain in Mexico. Additionally, he declared an emergency at the southern border.
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As president, Trump will likely have the final say in whether or not to grant Abbott’s request for a full reimbursement.  ,
The two men share a friendly relationship, with Abbott attending Trump’s inauguration and the president calling the Texas leader a “very popular” and “unbeatable governor” during remarks on Monday.  ,
