GOP Presses Biden To Reimburse Texas For Border Security

House Republicans are laying down the gauntlet for the White House to reimburse Texas for its expenses in dealing with President Joe Biden’s sweeping border failures.

Texas launched Operation Lone Star to alleviate the crisis at the nation’s southern border when it realized it must pick up where Washington left off in defending the country.

Texas Reps. Pat Fallon, Ronny Jackson, Wesley Hunt, Randy Weber, Jake Ellzey, Keith Self, and Lance Gooden introduced the Lone Star Reimbursement Act Wednesday. It would help the state recoup $4.4 billion for its costs incurred policing the border.

Fallon charged that “Texas has been forced by this administration to go it alone when it comes to securing our border.” In his statement, he added that “Operation Lone Star has been a critical tool in stemming the tide of illegal immigration, but we cannot do it by ourselves.”

The funds would come from the Department of Defense and Homeland Security for FY 2024.

The state bore the brunt of the 2021 illegal migrant surge that exploded during Biden’s first year and has not abated. Law enforcement personnel and valuable resources were deployed for several actions, including continued wall construction and busing migrants to “sanctuary cities.”

The situation at the border has gotten so critical that many lawmakers now call for the impeachment of Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas.

What are clearly constitutional responsibilities of the federal government have through dereliction of duty been delegated to the state to handle.

The proposal recognizes that Operation Lone Star resulted in over 348,000 illegal immigrant apprehensions. There have also been more than 24,000 criminal arrests and over 22,000 felony charges filed.

Since assuming control of the House, Republicans have increasingly targeted the border issue. Several wrote directly to Biden in January urging the White House to both reimburse Texas for its expenses in defending the border and to meet with a Texas delegation.

The White House responded by accusing the GOP of failing to support border funding. The administration also claimed that Republicans are responsible for the border mess by not supporting Biden’s immigration plan — a plan that includes citizenship for millions of illegal migrants.