Texas may have spent more money working to secure the border with Mexico and other states, and now wants to be first in line for reimbursement.
Under terms of one section in the "Big Beautiful Bill" passed during the summer, states will be paid back for their efforts to control the borders when needed.
That's prompted both of Texas' Republican US senators, John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, to co-author a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem asking that Texas be prioritized when the payouts begin.
The two Senators were joined by 25 other members of Congress asking for Texas to placed near the top of the list for reimbursement for border security efforts, which have cost the state around $13 billion.
The state doesn't expect to get all its money back since the payback fund, called the "State Border Security Reinforcement Fund" under the control of Homeland Security, has only been allocated $10 billion.
The letter stated that, "When President Biden came into office, he immediately reversed the successful policies that President Trump put into place during his first term to secure our borders against illegal immigrants. Within the first two months of the Biden Administration, monthly apprehensions of illegal aliens rose by nearly 100,000, eventually peaking at over 300,000 in December 2024.2 Because Border Patrol agents were occupied processing those illegal aliens they were able to apprehend, an estimated 1.7 million additional illegal aliens evaded apprehension and made their way into our communities.3 President Biden’s open-border policies imposed a substantial cost on communities in Texas, through increased fentanyl trafficking, crime, and even stress on local emergency response services.
"Operation Lone Star was a huge success. According to the State’s most recent figures, Texas apprehended over 535,724 illegal aliens since its launch, and decreased illegal crossings into Texas by 87 percent. Additionally, the State seized over 779 million lethal doses of fentanyl, protecting not just Texans but all Americans against this deadly scourge. However, Operation Lone Star came at a substantial cost of approximately $11.1 billion between 2021 and January 2025."