President Trump said Thursday he will step in to secure the Texas southern border if the state’s newly elected Democratic governor pulls back state forces.
Mr. Trump was asked whether he is ready to reinforce the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas now that Gov. Greg Abbott, a staunch advocate of a border wall, was defeated by Democrat Gina Hinajosa, who put forth different proposals on border security.
“I am sure that the new governor is going to want to have security of the state Texas border,” Mr. Trump said. “I’m sure they’ll continue my policy, and if they don’t continue my policy, I will.”
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About 2/3 of the U.S.-Mexico border (about 1,250 of the overall 1,950 miles) has Texas on the American side.
Much of the boundary that faces Arizona and New Mexico is inhospitable to human trafficking, especially pedestrian border crossing, as it consists mostly of sparsely populated desert.
The border security program launched by Texas built its own border wall with Mexico and has sent more than 10,000 National Guard members to help with security.
Launched in March 2021 by the state during the height of the migrant border crisis under former President Biden, Operation Lone Star combated illegal immigration, drug trafficking (including fentanyl), and human smuggling along the Texas–Mexico border.
Ms. Hinojosa, a state lawmaker, said Mr. Abbott had “wasted” taxpayer money to “grandstand” with Operation Lone Star.
During a 2021 special session, Border Report reported that Ms. Hinojosa voted against the first appropriation of Operation Lone Star, worth roughly $1.8 billion.
During a campaign stop in Presidio, she called construction on the border wall plan for the Big Bend region unnecessary.
Construction for the federal initiative is presently being litigated in the courts.
At the start of the year, she joined a Stop ICE rally with U.S. Reps. Joaquin Castro and Greg Casar and state Rep. James Talarico, who won Texas’ U.S. Senate seat.
She released a statement in January saying, “Texas is the only state to detain little children and their parents because Greg Abbott made it happen.”
“Now we’re seeing the deadly consequences of Abbott’s corruption: American citizens killed by federal agents, law-abiding immigrants flown to Texas in violation of court orders, and children fed contaminated food in facilities that exist because Abbott chose profits over people. As governor, I will never offer up Texas as a staging ground for operations that terrorize families and enrich his donors.”
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