WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) released the following statement after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officially opened the Cornyn-created State Border Security Reinforcement Fund for applications from eligible states. This fund was authorized through a provision led by Sen. Cornyn as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, also known as the Working Families Tax Cuts Act, which included $13.5 billion in funding to reimburse states like Texas for stepping up during the Biden administration to try and secure the border.

“For four years, President Biden’s disastrous open-border policies wreaked havoc on our nation, and no state did more to fill in the gaps to protect and defend the southern border than Texas,” said Sen. Cornyn. “I’m glad the Department of Homeland Security has followed through on my reimbursement provision by opening the application process for the State Border Security Reinforcement Fund to reimburse states like Texas for the billions of dollars spent to try and secure the border after Joe Biden’s dereliction of this federal responsibility.”

Background: 

Senator Cornyn has led the fight in Washington to secure federal reimbursement for Texas by:

• Swiftly backing Governor Abbott’s request for Texas to be reimbursed for the taxpayer dollars spent on Operation Lone Star;
• Calling attention to the ongoing reimbursement effort on the Senate floor;
• Meeting with Governor Abbott and members of the Texas congressional delegation to discuss the legislative strategy for the reimbursement push;
• Holding ongoing meetings and phone calls with Governor Abbott, Senate and House leadership, and congressional colleagues regarding the effort;
• Leading legislation in the Senate to reimburse the State of Texas for the more than $11 billion dollars Texas taxpayers spent on Operation Lone Star;
• And led a letter with members of the Texas congressional delegation to the 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.

More information on the State Border Security Reinforcement Fund can be found here. The Department of Justice will be overseeing the remaining $3.5 billion portion of the expected border reimbursement funding.