'One Big Beautiful Bill' includes $12B for border security reimbursements for Texas, border states

WASHINGTON - The U.S. House on Thursday passed its One Big Beautiful Bill that would include $12 billion in funds to reimburse border states for money they've spent on border security since the beginning of former President Joe Biden's administration.

Border reimbursement 

By the numbers:

Early Thursday morning, the House passed the tax bill with a 42-page amendment of changes, including the $12 billion for border security reimbursement called on by Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas).

What they're saying:

"We are reimbursing border states like Texas for our expenses fighting illegal immigration, a bill I introduced back in 2021," Crenshaw said. "Huge win today."

Gov. Greg Abbott sent letters to Congressional leaders and the Texas Congressional Delegation in January requesting the federal government repay the state the $11.1 billion that it spent on Operation Lone Star, Texas' border security effort.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) recently filed legislation to establish a reimbursement fund to cover costs by border states.

After the passage of the bill in the House, Cornyn praised the chamber for including border reimbursement and said he would work to make sure the funding remains in the Senate version of the bill.

"The State of Texas spent more than $11 billion taxpayer dollars to protect and defend the southern border in the Biden administration’s absence, and I commend the House for passing language that serves as a good starting point in the One Big Beautiful Bill to secure billions in critical funding for Texas, which did the job of the federal government amidst the Biden border crisis," Cornyn said. "I will continue to spearhead the fight in the Senate for border security reimbursement funding and strengthen the language to ensure that Texas will be rightfully repaid for Operation Lone Star. I thank Congressman Chip Roy and all Texas Republicans in the House for making this reimbursement funding a priority and look forward to working with my Senate colleagues to send the One Big Beautiful Bill Act with these funds included to President Trump’s desk."

What else is in the bill? 

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a nonpartisan fiscal watchdog group, estimates that the House bill is shaping up to add roughly $3.8 trillion to the debt over the next decade, while the changes to Medicaid, food stamps and other services would tally $1 trillion in reduced spending. 

The sprawling 1,000-plus page package carries Trump’s title, the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," as well as his campaign promises to extend the tax breaks approved during his first term while adding new ones, including no taxes on tips, automobile loan interest and Social Security. There’s also a higher standard deduction, of $32,000 for joint filers, and a bigger child tax credit.

The bill includes around $5 billion in funding for border security and mass deportations.

Overall, the proposed bill will include removing 1 million immigrants annually and housing 100,000 people in detention centers.

It also includes major changes to immigration policy, imposing a $1,000 fee on migrants seeking asylum — something the nation has never done, putting it on par with few others, including Australia and Iran.

What's next:

The bill now goes to the Senate, where more changes are expected.

Operation Lone Star

The backstory:

Governor Abbott launched Operation Lone Star in 2021.

The program deployed state resources, including more than 10,000 members of the state National Guard and troopers from the Department of Public Safety, to the southern border.

Gov. Abbott claims that Operation Lone Star has led to more than 50,000 criminal arrests and repelled more than 140,000 illegal entries into the state.

The governor says that in the past four years, Operation Lone Star has reduced illegal immigration into Texas by 87 percent. 

The other side:

Immigration rights groups have argued that Operation Lone Star is not effective.

The ACLU released a 2024 report claiming that nearly 70 percent of the arrests were for misdemeanor charges, like trespassing.

The same report found that the program mostly prosecuted people from the United States.

Some residents in border communities have opposed the law enforcement presence in their area.

U.S. Border SecurityTexasImmigrationPolitics