Texas Republicans in Congress back Abbott's request to reimburse the state $11 billion spent to secure the border
Texas Republicans in Congress are supporting Governor Greg Abbott's plea for the state to be paid back billions of dollars for its efforts to prevent illegal immigration.
U.S. Representative Dan Crenshaw, R-Kingwood, proposed a bill to reimburse states like Texas that have tried to secure the border on their own.
U.S. Representative Jake Ellzey, R-Waxahachie, is a co-sponsor of the legislation.
"The Constitution is clear," he said in a statement. "Article IV, Section 4 explicitly states that the federal government shall protect each state from invasion. Unfortunately, Washington's failure to uphold this responsibility has forced states like Texas to shoulder the burden of securing our southern border."
In an interview with CBS News Texas, U.S. Representative Keith Self agreed the measure should pass.
"Absolutely, absolutely," Self said. "The federal government has been derelict in its duty because immigration people say it's a federal issue. They're exactly right. But in the absence of the federal government, in the dereliction of its duty by the federal government, the state of Texas has done what it could."
On Thursday, the Governor sent letters to the entire Texas Congressional delegation and to Congressional leaders.
He wants Congress to reimburse the state $11.1 billion, which the state has spent between 2022 and this budget year.
Abbott said most of that went to building a border wall, and for deploying National Guard soldiers and state troopers to the border. The Governor blames what he calls the Biden administration's failures to prevent illegal immigration.
U.S. Representative Julie Johnson, D-Farmers Branch told CBS News Texas she isn't sure how she would vote on the bill.
"I'd have to see the language of the bill to see what it encompasses," said Johnson. "But Greg Abbott, our Governor, did a lot of performative spending down there just for re-election purposes that really didn't make a meaningful contribution to our border security. If it had, we wouldn't be in the situation that we're in now. And so, I'm not for wasting governmental resources for one politician's performance gain." T
Texas lawmakers have proposed spending $6.5 billion on border security during the 2026-27 biennium.
Watch Eye On Politics on CBS News Texas at 7:30 Sunday morning.