Ted Cruz, Other Texas GOP Lawmakers Ask Trump Admin For More Than $10 Billion To Refund Immigration Enforcement Costs

Over two dozen Texas Republican lawmakers have sent a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem asking the Trump administration for more than $10 billion to reimburse the state for funds spent in immigration enforcement policies.

Overall, the 27 lawmakers are requesting to be reimbursed for the $11.1 billion the state has spent since 2021 on border enforcement operations carried out through Operation Lone Star. "We respectfully request that the departments prioritize Texas in disbursing these funds," reads a passage of the letter, which references $13.5 billion in authorized reimbursement funds appropriated through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act for these purposes, according to Border Report.

"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," the letter adds.

They specified that, since Governor Greg Abbott launched the operation in 2021, the state built several miles of border wall, set up buoys in the Rio Grande to deter crossings, sent thousands of National Guard troops to the area, as well as state troopers to patrol border roads.

In a January 23 letter to congressional leaders, Abbott formally requested reimbursement for Texas' expenditures, writing that "the burden that our State has borne is a direct result of a refusal by the federal government to do its job." He detailed over $3 billion spent on physical barriers and buoys, $58 million on fencing and razor wire, and nearly $6 billion on personnel.