WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Congressman August Pfluger (TX-11) today led a letter with members of the Texas congressional delegation to the U.S. Departments of Justice (DOJ) and Homeland Security (DHS) urging them to prioritize the release of funds set aside in the One Big Beautiful Bill to reimburse the State of Texas for the more than $11 billion spent on border security efforts during the disastrous Biden-Harris border crisis. This comes after Sen. Cornyn spearheaded the push for $13.5 billion in border security reimbursement funding to be included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, now law.

The lawmakers wrote: “President Trump’s signature legislative accomplishment, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, created two funds totaling $13.5 billion for the purpose of reimbursing states for stepping up when President Biden willfully refused to enforce our immigration laws at the border. The State of Texas bore the heaviest burden, incurring $11.1 billion in costs over four years. We respectfully request that the Departments prioritize Texas in disbursing these funds.”

“In March 2021, Texas Governor Abbott launched Operation Lone Star to help secure the border when the federal government would not. Through this whole-of-government approach, the State of Texas built miles of border wall and buoy barriers and deployed personnel to maintain border infrastructure and apprehend illegal aliens, gang members, and other criminals,” they wrote.

“Texas’s actions through Operation Lone Star were absolutely vital to ensuring the safety and security of Americans across our great country. However, our State should not have had to bear alone the costs of securing the border when former President Biden intentionally failed to do so. We therefore respectfully ask that, as the Departments prepare to disburse the funds set aside in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the State of Texas be fully reimbursed for the costs incurred to protect Americans from illegal immigration and drug trafficking under former President Biden’s disastrous leadership,” the lawmakers concluded.

Text of the letter is available here and below. Additional signatories include Representatives Pete Sessions (TX-17), John Carter (TX-31), Michael McCaul (TX-10), Randy Weber (TX-14), Roger Williams (TX-25), Brian Babin (TX-36), Jodey Arrington (TX-19), Michael Cloud (TX-27), Dan Crenshaw (TX-02), Lance Gooden (TX-05), Chip Roy (TX-21), Pat Fallon (TX-04), Tony Gonzales (TX-23), Ronny Jackson (TX-13), Tory Nehls (TX-22), Beth Van Duyne (TX-24), Jake Ellzey (TX-06), Monica De La Cruz (TX-15), Wesley Hunt (TX-38), Morgan Luttrell (TX-08), Nathaniel Moran (TX-01), Keith Self (TX-03), Brandon Gill (TX-26), and Craig Goldman (TX-12).

November 14, 2025

The Honorable Pam Bondi

Attorney General

United States Department of Justice

950 Pennsylvania Avenue

Washington DC 20530-0001

The Honorable Kristi Noem

Secretary

U.S. Department of Homeland Security

2707 Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SE

Washington, DC 20528-0525

Dear Attorney General Bondi and Secretary Noem,

We are writing as members of the Texas congressional delegation to request that the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security (“the Departments”) reimburse the State of Texas for the costs it incurred to secure the border throughout the disastrous Biden-Harris Administration. President Trump’s signature legislative accomplishment, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, created two funds totaling $13.5 billion for the purpose of reimbursing states for stepping up when President Biden willfully refused to enforce our immigration laws at the border. The State of Texas bore the heaviest burden, incurring $11.1 billion in costs over four years. We respectfully request that the Departments prioritize Texas in disbursing these funds.

When President Biden came into office, he immediately reversed the successful policies that President Trump put into place during his first term to secure our borders against illegal immigrants. Within the first two months of the Biden Administration, monthly apprehensions of illegal aliens rose by nearly 100,000, eventually peaking at over 300,000 in December 2024. Because Border Patrol agents were occupied processing those illegal aliens they were able to apprehend, an estimated 1.7 million additional illegal aliens evaded apprehension and made their way into our communities. President Biden’s open-border policies imposed a substantial cost on communities in Texas, through increased fentanyl trafficking, crime, and even stress on local emergency response services.

In March 2021, Texas Governor Abbott launched Operation Lone Star to help secure the border when the federal government would not. Through this whole-of-government approach, the State of Texas built miles of border wall and buoy barriers and deployed personnel to maintain border infrastructure and apprehend illegal aliens, gang members, and other criminals. The State also undertook a substantial effort to prosecute these illegal aliens for the crimes they committed on U.S. soil.

Operation Lone Star was a huge success. According to the State’s most recent figures, Texas apprehended over 535,724 illegal aliens since its launch, and decreased illegal crossings into Texas by 87 percent. Additionally, the State seized over 779 million lethal doses of fentanyl, protecting not just Texans but all Americans against this deadly scourge. However, Operation Lone Star came at a substantial cost of approximately $11.1 billion between 2021 and January 2025.

Texas’s actions through Operation Lone Star were absolutely vital to ensuring the safety and security of Americans across our great country. However, our State should not have had to bear alone the costs of securing the border when former President Biden intentionally failed to do so. We therefore respectfully ask that, as the Departments prepare to disburse the funds set aside in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the State of Texas be fully reimbursed for the costs incurred to protect Americans from illegal immigration and drug trafficking under former President Biden’s disastrous leadership.

Sincerely,

/s/