WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Congressman Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) introduced bipartisan legislation today to reimburse states like Texas who have spent significant resources on enforcing federal immigration laws, which is a responsibility of the federal government. The Border Security Reimbursement Act would reimburse states who have spent more than $2.5B on border security in the last 10 years.
"Texans have paid billions in federal taxes for the government to do its job to secure the southern border. The Biden Administration seems hellbent on abdicating that responsibility, wasting taxpayer dollars and creating an unprecedented crisis on the border," said Crenshaw. "Meanwhile, Texans are also paying state taxes to bolster border security because we can't rely on the federal government to enforce federal immigration laws. My bipartisan bill simply reimburses states like Texas for doing the federal government's job."
Background
Since the 2008-2009 budget, Texas has spent more than $3.2B on border security. The Texas legislature is in session right now, and they are likely going to spend approximately $800M on border security for the 2022-2023 budget, taking Texas over $4B in the last 13 years.
The State Border Security Reimbursement Act reimburses for the whole amount spent by a state on what is a federal responsibility.
The legislation comes following Crenshaw's visit to the southern border this past weekend, which Crenshaw documented on social media.
Click here for text of the legislation.