The Texas Republican delegation in the U.S. House has written to President Joe Biden, demanding that he reimburse Texas for state efforts made to attempt to secure the border and requesting a meeting to discuss ways to end the crisis.
The 25-member delegation led by U.S. Reps. August Pfluger, Pat Fallon, Jodey Arrington, Chip Roy, and Tony Gonzales says that due to the federal government’s failure to secure the border, many cities along the border are suffering.
“The Texans we represent have been at the forefront of the crisis brought upon by your administration’s failed policies. Ranchers throughout west Texas routinely find bodies of dead migrants, or have their private property destroyed. Drugs flowing across our border have led to a record-number of American lives being ruined by poisonings from synthetic drugs, such as fentanyl,” the delegation wrote. “Small localities along the border are suffering from the federal government’s failures. These towns should not be forced to reallocate their already exhausted resources to secure their communities.”
In Fiscal Year 2023, there have already been more than 700,000 border encounters. Last December, the number of encounters was more than 179,000; this December, the number rose to more than 250,000 encounters, with no end in sight.
While Texas has taken action in the form of Operation Lone Star, state efforts have done little to turn the tide, and thousands continue to flood across the border.
In addition, due to Biden blocking the completion of the Trump-era border wall, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott awarded a $224 million contract to the Fisher Sand and Gravel Company to build nearly 10 miles of a 30-foot border wall on private or state-owned land in Webb County.
The delegation also notes that 98 known or suspected terrorists who were apprehended while trying to cross the border in FY22 alone.
“We urge you to work with the Texas Delegation to pay Texas back for the resources expended throughout Operation Lone Star, and we urge you to work with us to stop the flow of illegal migration at the southern border,” the letter states. “Further, we also request a meeting with you to discuss the border crisis and the solutions proposed by Members of the Texas Delegation to put an end to this crisis.”
