Democrats split over Gov. Abbott's request for Congress to reimburse Texas for its border security efforts
Democrats from North Texas disagree about whether Congress should pay back the State of Texas billions of dollars that it spent to prevent illegal immigration.
The Democrats who serve in Congress oppose the request by Gov. Greg Abbott, while Democrats who serve in the Texas Legislature support the idea.
Abbott has traveled to Washington, D.C., to advocate for $11.1 billion in reimbursement. Republican members of Congress and the state Legislature are unified in their support.
Abbott argues that Operation Lone Star's increased efforts led to a drop in migrant entries into Texas, while other southern border states saw increases. Congressional Democrats, however, attribute the decline in illegal immigration to President Biden's changes to asylum laws and Mexico's enhanced efforts to curb the migrant flow into the U.S. Either way, Democrats representing Texas are on different sides when it comes to the state being paid back.
U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth, criticized the reimbursement request.
"It's ridiculous with Elon Musk and Trump and DOGE," Veasey said. "Why in the world would they want to reimburse anyone that's spent all of this money that's virtually been ineffective at doing anything to stop the flow of immigration from coming across the border? Isn't DOGE about preventing waste and fraud? Why would you give back $11 billion to the guy who's been wasting money?"
State Rep. Mihaela Plesa, D-Dallas, strongly supports Abbott's efforts.
"I once again am 100% supporting Governor Abbott and his effort to make sure that Texas gets compensated for the $11 billion that we spent on border security, and I know that there are other House Democrats that feel the same way," Plesa said. "I haven't had the opportunity to speak with our Congressional members yet about this issue. But I deal with my state budget. I deal with making sure that my state is getting paid."
Plesa and Rep. Eddie Morales, D-Eagle Pass, issued a joint statement insisting that any reimbursed funds should go to border communities for public improvement projects, public schools, healthcare access, and more.
State Rep. Rafael Anchia, D-Dallas, previously told CBS News Texas that he supports the idea of Congress reimbursing the state. But he said the governor should have requested $20 billion to include what the legislature may spend during the next two years and during the first Trump administration.
CBS News Texas reached out to the congressional offices of Veasey, Rep. Julie Johnson, D-Farmers Branch, and Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas, for comments on the differing opinions with state representatives but did not receive a response.
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