After nearly four years, could the 2025 legislative session mark the beginning of the end for Operation Lone Star? Gov. Greg Abbott’s signature border security program – which has included sending National Guard troops to patrol the border, busing migrants out of state and building a border wall – has spent $11 billion according to The Texas Tribune. Now, with a Trump administration planning to implement draconian immigration policies, some Texas Republicans see this as an opportunity to wind down Operation Lone Star.
During a post-election news conference, Abbott said funding for the program could be diverted to education and property tax cuts thanks to Trump’s victory. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick echoed that point in an interview with WFAA. “Well, we’re going to be able to take a lot of that money now and put it back to our taxpayers, for roads, for water, for education, for health care, for all the things that we need that Joe Biden forced us to spend because he was letting millions of people cross the border,” Patrick said in the interview.
Many immigration rights groups have argued that the program has not been effective. An ACLU report from last spring found that the program has mostly arrested people for low-level offenses, like trespassing, with misdemeanor charges constituting 70% of court appearances. It also found that the program has mostly prosecuted U.S. nationals – a categorization used by Texas agencies overseeing Operation Lone Star. In this instance it’s also a categorization that, according to the ACLU, may consist entirely of U.S. citizens.
Nonetheless, legislators have been filing bills that appear to be very much in line with the Operation Lone Star mission. For example, House Bill 354 filed by Rep. Briscoe Cain, R-Deer Park, would establish a border protection unit, which could “arrest, apprehend, or detain persons crossing the Texas-Mexico border unlawfully, and deter persons attempting to cross the border unlawfully, including with the use of non-deadly crowd control measures.” There is also a bill that would require counties and cities to enter into partnership with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and another that would detain children suspected to be undocumented in order to obtain their fingerprints.
None of those three bills have been filed by a legislator who represents the border. Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, said in an email that health and education are typically her constituents’ highest priorities. With that in mind, she filed Senate Bill 45 to expand Medicaid to all Texans and SB 42 to require all public school districts to provide full-day pre-K for all 4-year-olds.
As for border security, she said it should reflect the complexity of the region, adding that the state needs to have clear metrics for success. “Ultimately, the border is more than a line dividing two nations – it is a dynamic and vital part of Texas that shapes our economy, security and culture.”
This article appears in January 10 • 2025.