Texas Secures $7.5 Billion Reimbursement from Trump Administration for Controversial Operation Lone Star Border Security

By Jose G. Landa, Copyright 2026 Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc.

The Trump Administration will reimburse the State of Texas $7.5 billion of the more than $11 Billion it spent implementing the controversial Operation Lone Star for border security expenses implemented by Governor Greg Abbott during several years of record migration along the southern border, Governor Greg Abbott announced Friday.

The federal government’s reimbursement was approved by the United States Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency through the State Border Security Reinforcement Fund.
Abbott said he had spoken with Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, who confirmed that the federal government would provide the money to Texas.

“Texas taxpayers spent billions to stop illegal crossings, catch criminals and seize deadly drugs,” Abbott said. “This reimbursement is a victory for those taxpayers.”

The money will reimburse a significant portion of what Texas spent through Operation Lone Star, the border security initiative Abbott launched in March 2021. Texas has spent more than $11 billion on the operation, according to state and federal funding documents.

Operation Lone Star deployed thousands of Texas National Guard soldiers and Texas Department of Public Safety troopers along the the Texas-Mexico border. The operation also funded fencing, concertina wire, surveillance equipment, border barriers, segments of the state border wall and floating marine barriers placed in the Rio Grande from Del Rio to Brownsville, Texas, including Eagle Pass.

The reimbursement was authorized through federal legislation signed in July 2025. The law created $13.5 billion in grant funding that state and local governments could seek for immigration enforcement and border security expenses.

Texas applied for approximately $10 billion when the Department of Homeland Security opened the funding process in June. The state will receive $7.5 billion, representing approximately three-fourths of the available $10 billion state reimbursement fund.

Eagle Pass played a central role in the events that led Texas to expand Operation Lone Star.

For several years, the Eagle Pass area became one of the epicenters of undocumented migration along the southern border.

Thousands of migrants crossed the Rio Grande into Maverick County during several large-scale surges, overwhelming federal processing operations and placing additional demands on local law enforcement, emergency medical services and nonprofit organizations.

The migration crisis reached a critical point in December 2023, when illegal crossings across the southern border exceeded 10,000 on some days.

Federal authorities temporarily closed international railroad operations in Eagle Pass and El Paso after personnel were reassigned to help process the large number of migrants arriving in the region.

The City of Eagle Pass Shelby Park also became a focal point in the dispute between Texas and the federal government after state authorities assumed control of the riverfront public park property and restricted federal Border Patrol access to portions of the area.

The Eagle Pass public park became the national Republican Party’s darling for calling closing the border and using it as a whipping icon for Donald J. Trump’s 2024 election campaign. The city public park on the banks of the Rio Grande was closed to local residents and U. S. Border Patrol for nearly two years.

In 2025, the Texas Legislature awarded a measly $1 million to the City of Eagle Pass for seizing and possessing its beloved public park for use as the headquarters of the controversial Operation Lone Star.

Operation Lone Star established extensive operations in Eagle Pass several years ago and later developed a military facility to house Texas National Guard personnel assigned to the border mission. State soldiers and DPS troopers continue operating in Eagle Pass, Maverick County and the surrounding border region.

The state’s reimbursement application included expenses associated with installing wire barriers around Eagle Pass, personnel involved in more than 530,000 migrant apprehensions, nearly 54,000 criminal arrests and the transportation of almost 120,000 migrants to other states.

Although migration levels have declined substantially from the record surges experienced during previous years, Operation Lone Star remains active in the Eagle Pass area and across the Texas border.

The $7.5 billion reimbursement will be considered when state lawmakers begin developing the next Texas budget after the Legislature convenes in January.

The residents of Eagle Pass and its City Council should submit to the State of Texas a larger supplemental funding request and compensation for militarily seizing and possessing Shelby Park for nearly two years in exchange for the destruction of the park and irreparable harm to the community. The Eagle Pass City Council should consider seeking additional compensation and share of the $7.5 Billion awarded by the federal government to Texas.