Gov. Greg Abbott has announced that Texas has submitted the documentation required to begin seeking federal reimbursement for billions of dollars the state spent on border security through Operation Lone Star, marking a significant shift in the relationship between Texas and Washington after years of legal and political battles over immigration enforcement.
According to Abbott's office, Texas has completed the necessary paperwork to pursue reimbursement from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for costs associated with securing the Texas-Mexico border. The governor maintains that Texas spent more than $10 billion over the past several years addressing what state officials describe as gaps in federal border enforcement, and that recovering those taxpayer dollars has become a priority.
The reimbursement opportunity stems from funding authorized through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law on July 4, 2025. The legislation allows DHS and the U.S. Department of Justice to reimburse states for eligible expenses related to border security initiatives, providing Texas with its first realistic pathway to recover a portion of the massive investment it has made since 2021.
U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul praised the reimbursement effort, arguing that Texas assumed responsibilities traditionally carried out by the federal government and should receive a substantial share of the available funding.
The reimbursement request represents the latest chapter in Operation Lone Star, Abbott's signature border security initiative launched in March 2021. Led jointly by the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas National Guard, the operation was created in response to sweeping immigration policy changes implemented after former President Joe Biden took office earlier that year.
On his first day in office, Biden signed numerous executive actions reversing several immigration policies from President Donald Trump's first administration. Among those actions were ending construction of the southern border wall, preserving the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, revising Immigration and Customs Enforcement priorities, restoring the inclusion of non-citizens in the U.S. Census, and rescinding Executive Order 13769, which had imposed enhanced vetting and entry restrictions on nationals from certain countries.
Texas officials argued those federal policy changes contributed to increased illegal immigration and cross-border criminal activity, prompting the state to expand its own enforcement efforts.
Since its inception, Operation Lone Star has grown into one of the largest state-led border security operations in modern American history. State officials say the initiative has resulted in more than 500,000 apprehensions of individuals who entered the country illegally, more than 60,000 criminal arrests, and the seizure of hundreds of millions of lethal doses of fentanyl. Abbott has also claimed the operation contributed to an 85 percent reduction in illegal crossings into Texas while disrupting human smuggling and drug trafficking networks.
Last year, the state transitioned to Operation Lone Star 2.0, shifting its primary focus from managing large numbers of migrants crossing the border to targeting criminal activity involving illegal immigrants throughout Texas rather than concentrating enforcement almost exclusively in border communities.
While Texas has portrayed Operation Lone Star as a necessary response to federal inaction, the initiative has remained one of the nation's most controversial border security programs.
Immigration enforcement has historically been the responsibility of the federal government, a principle reinforced by the U.S. Supreme Court's 2012 decision in Arizona v. United States. In that ruling, the Court reaffirmed that the federal government holds primary authority over immigration policy while limiting the ability of individual states to establish their own enforcement systems.
Abbott has consistently argued that Texas has acted within legal boundaries by using state criminal laws rather than attempting to create an independent immigration system. Throughout the program's existence, the governor has maintained that Texas is exercising lawful authority to arrest individuals who violate state laws after illegally crossing the border.
The legal boundaries of state immigration enforcement have nevertheless been challenged repeatedly.
Former DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas criticized Operation Lone Star during the Biden administration, arguing that Texas' actions conflicted with national immigration policy. Congressional Democrats also called for federal investigations into the operation, raising concerns about its cost, judicial backlogs, large-scale arrests, and the increasing militarization of border communities.
Those concerns extended into the Texas Legislature's passage of Senate Bill 4 in 2023. The measure made illegal entry into Texas a state criminal offense and authorized judges to order offenders returned to their country of origin. Supporters argued the legislation filled an enforcement gap left by the federal government, while opponents contended it violated constitutional principles granting immigration authority exclusively to Washington.
The law has remained tied up in federal court. Last month, U.S. District Judge David Ezra blocked Senate Bill 4 from taking effect, concluding that it likely conflicts with the Supreme Court's precedent in Arizona v. United States. Texas has indicated it intends to continue defending the law before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
The reimbursement application now underway represents a different approach to Texas' border strategy. Rather than seeking additional enforcement authority, the state is attempting to recover taxpayer dollars already spent on operations that officials argue compensated for years of inadequate federal action.
Abbott's office said Texas bore the largest financial burden of any state responding to border security challenges, making reimbursement an opportunity to return billions of dollars to Texas taxpayers if federal officials approve the request.
While the state has completed the required documentation, officials say the formal reimbursement application will be submitted to DHS in the near future. The ultimate amount Texas receives, and how quickly those funds are distributed, will depend on the federal review process and eligibility determinations under the reimbursement program.
