Findings

Congress finds the following: (1) The Federal Government is primarily responsible for securing the borders of the United States at and between ports of entry. (2) Due to the lack of border action by the Federal Government from January 20, 2021, to January 19, 2025, the State of Texas has been forced to continually appropriate funds to secure the southern border of the United States. (3) Texas has taken these actions to help maintain safety and security for all citizens across the United States by protecting against the criminal acts of— (A) human trafficking; (B) sex trafficking; (C) drug proliferation; (D) illicit movement of weapons and contraband; (E) criminal organizations; and (F) unlawful entry. (4) In March 2021, the Governor of Texas launched Operation Lone Star to combat these threats, resulting in— (A) apprehension of over half a million illegal immigrants; (B) 140,000 attempted illegal entries denied; (C) over 50,000 criminal arrests; (D) the seizure of half a billion lethal doses of fentanyl; and (E) construction of over 240 miles of border barriers. (5) The amount the State of Texas spent on border security to combat the crisis at Texas’ southern border was $11.1 billion of Texas taxpayer funding.