Sign up for The Texas Tribune’s everyday magazine, The Brief, to stay informed about the most important news from Texas.
As part of Texas’s relationship with President Donald Trump to strengthen the frontier, governor of Washington said more than 100 miles of Texas ‘ territories may be leased or sold to the federal government. Greg Abbott stated this in a Thursday discussion with The Texas Tribune.
Abbott is in Washington this week to lobby Congress for$ 11 billion to pay back Texas for the money that was spent on his Operation Lone Star to secure the border while the Biden Administration was in office. The three-term Texas governor said he was ready to hand over more than 50 yards of constructed boundary wall, roughly 20 miles of designed boundary walls, 100 miles of easements to create more walls, over 2, 000 defense beds for National Guardsmen and 4, 000 prison cells to the federal government.
According to Abbott, the transfer of real estate and operational border system created by Operation Lone Star sets this request apart from those that Texas has submitted to the federal government for border enforcement.
” This is not really a reimbursement”, said Abbott during a 10 minute meeting at his Washington resort. This is a pay for real estate assets and changes provided by the state of Texas as a payment for services provided by the state of Texas that benefit everyone in the United States of America.
Texas contains more of the southern boundary than any other state, stretching over 1, 200 yards.
This year, Abbott met with White House leaders, Texas Republicans, and House Speaker Mike Johnson to make his case. Trump and Abbott also met next week.
It’s still to be seen whether Trump will back the move or whether Congress will manage the finances. Republicans have one of their top priorities this time: cutting national spending. Abbott described his meetings as “very appreciative of everything that Texas did,” and they thanked us for holding the line during [President ] Joe Biden’s four years of open border policies.
In response to Biden abdicating his authority to secure the borders, Abbott launched Operation Lone Star in 2021, claiming it was a reaction to the Trump administration’s decision to revoke many executive orders related to the frontier. Under the initiative, Abbott installed fresh border restrictions and sent the country’s National Guard to the frontier, as well as bused over 100, 000 workers to places around the nation.
Trump has pledged to support border enforcement with a far more stern approach, including by declaring a national emergency, initiating mass deportations, and employing military personnel. Along with 5, 000 Texas Air and Army National Guard members on the border, nearly 1,500 National Guardsmen from across the nation have been stationed there.
When asked if the administration’s new direction would likely signal Operation Lone Star’s demise, Abbott responded that it would “at least lead to a rebalancing of it.”
” Under Biden, there was zero resistance about people coming across the border. Now under Trump, there is maximum resistance coming across the border”, Abbott said. ” National Guard can work with ICE and Border Patrol to ensure that we are able to maintain that resistance.”
Abbott and the Trump administration reached an agreement earlier this month that allows Texas National Guard personnel to conduct immigration arrests as long as they cooperate with federal agents. Abbott clarified Thursday that the agreement means they have the same authority as any ICE or Border Patrol agents, including “apprehending, arresting, jailing, and going through the deportation process”. He added that members of the Department of Public Safety have the same authority.
The National Guard members who are doing that have those capabilities, Abbott said,” Anything that ICE would be going through for the deportation process, that is what they would be doing.”
Abbott stated that he would support any additional border-related enforcement measures that Trump might impose. When asked about Trump’s use of the Insurrection Act, which would allow the president to deploy active duty military on the border, he said he didn’t object.
According to Abbott,” the president needs to do what he needs to do,” noting that Trump and Congress are currently focused on raising money for additional personnel. ” But the President, obviously, he was elected, primarily to secure the border, and he needs to take whatever actions are needed to make sure he’s able to accomplish that goal”.
Abbott partnered with former ICE Director Tom Homan, whom Trump appointed as his “border czar,” to decide which migrants enforcement efforts should prioritize: those that “pose a public safety threat” and those that “pose a national security threat.”
However, many people reportedly received deportation without criminal records. The White House has just announced that all illegal immigrants who enter the country must be treated as criminals and deported. Homan and Abbott both claimed that those without criminal records could be detained when they were searching for them.
Abbott acknowledged that the details of how the state would receive the$ 11 billion request are still pending, whether through a lease or a single deposit.
” But once we get all the other big pictures items done, that’s going to be a piece of cake”, he said.
