Apr 29, 2022 - Politics & Policy

Abbott redirects $500 million to fund border security initiative

Julia Shapero

A Texas National Guard member in Brownsville, Texas, on Feb. 11. Photo: Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday said he is redirecting almost $500 million from various Texas agencies to fund border security initiative Operation Lone Star.

The big picture: The move comes after Texas military department leaders said earlier this month that Operation Lone Star needed an additional $531 million to be fully funded through the end of the year, according to the Texas Tribune.

Abbott launched Operation Lone Star in March 2021 in response to an increase in border crossings along the southern border. As part of the initiative, the Republican governor has deployed thousands of state troopers and National Guard soldiers to the border, per the Texas Tribune.

By the numbers: Abbott, along with other members of state leadership, said in a letter to several state agencies that they would be transferring $495.3 million to Operation Lone Star.

Of the $495.3 million that is being redirected, the vast majority — $465.3 million — will support the deployment of the National Guard. The other $30 million will go toward the border operations of other state agencies.

What they're saying: Abbott and state leaders noted in the letter that some of the agencies' funding from the previous year would "otherwise lapse and be unavailable" to them and that their current appropriations had been "fully funded with other sources."

"This transfer will not affect any agency or program function," they said in the letter.

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Abbott redirects $500 million to fund border security initiative

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