Texas Didn’t Wait — We Led On The Border

For years, Texans were told to wait for Washington to act — to wait for the Biden administration to get serious about border security — while families and communities paid the price for a crisis they did not create. Texas refused to wait.

Long before President Donald Trump returned to the White House, Texas

stepped up to defend our citizens, our communities, and our sovereignty. While the Biden administration embraced open-border policies that overwhelmed law enforcement and invited chaos, Texas acted. We invested billions of state dollars, deployed personnel and resources, and held the line when the federal government walked away from its responsibility.

Texas taxpayers should never have been forced to do that job. But we did what

was necessary to protect our state — and now, under President Trump’s

leadership, Texas is finally being repaid for it. This past summer, the state

secured more than $13 billion in federal reimbursement for border wall

construction and enforcement costs incurred under the Biden Administration.

The difference between the Presidents is unmistakable.

Under President Trump, border enforcement has been restored. In November,

U.S. Customs and Border Protection confirmed six straight months with zero

releases at the southern border. Catch-and-release is no longer the standard;

loopholes have been closed, and ports of entry are no longer being used to

process mass illegal crossings.

The result is the quietest border our country has seen in modern history.

But border security does not stop at the Rio Grande. Texas has been aggressive

about removing dangerous criminal illegal aliens from our communities — the

offenders who commit violent crimes, traffic drugs, and prey on innocent

people. Working hand in hand with federal authorities, Texas is ensuring these

criminals move from county jails straight to deportation, not back onto our

streets.

That is why I was proud to help pass Senate Bill 8, which strengthens 287(g)

agreements between local law enforcement and U.S. Immigration and Customs

Enforcement. These partnerships give trained officers the authority to identify

and detain criminal illegal aliens so they can be removed quickly and permanently. Texans deserve to know that violent criminals will not be given a

free pass.

Texas has also continued to put real money behind real enforcement. The

Legislature committed $3.3 billion to sustain border security operations and

created a Homeland Security Division within the Texas Department of Public

Safety to improve coordination and readiness statewide.

Now, with President Trump back in office, Texas finally has a federal partner

instead of an obstacle. Together, we are seeing what works: enforcement,

consequences, and leadership that puts Americans first. Texas did not wait. Texas did not back down. And today, Texas is setting the standard.

As we move into the next legislative session, I will continue fighting to expand enforcement tools, strengthen cooperation with federal agencies, and keep Texas families safe.

Because protecting our border means protecting our future.

– Conservative State Representative Angelia Orr