Texas Poised to Spend $6.5 Billion More on Border Security—Even as Crossings Plummet

U.S. Army soldiers patrol the US-Mexico border at Eagle Pass, Texas, on January 24, 2025 (Credit: Via Getty Images)

Texas has already spent nearly $18 billion"strengthening" its southern border under Gov. Greg Abbott's Operation Lone Star, and state lawmakers are now poised to add $6.5 billion more over the next two years, per the Texas Tribune—even as border crossings slow and Trump promises a sweeping federal immigration crackdown.

For rural sheriffs like Thaddeus Cleveland in Terrell County, the money has been a lifeline. Thanks to state funding, he hired five deputies and bought new patrol vehicles. "It kept us alive," Cleveland, a former Border Patrol agent, told the Texas Tribune. But even he's starting to question the price tag, especially with Trump back in office pledging massive federal deportation efforts.