Texas diverts $359.6 million from prisons to keep Greg Abbott’s border mission operating

Gov. Greg Abbott gives the keynote address at the Asian American Alliance luncheon at NuStar Energy LP in San Antonio on Oct. 13, 2022.

Gov. Greg Abbott said on Thursday that he and other state leaders are pulling $359.6 million out of the state prison system’s budget to fund his Operation Lone Star border security operation through the next 10 months.

So far, more than $4 billion has been spent to keep thousands of Department of Public Safety troopers and Texas National Guard members stationed along the Texas-Mexico border and other areas of the state.