Texas representatives continue to insist the state be reimbursed by federal government for efforts to secure the border
Texas representatives continue to push for the state of Texas to be reimbursed by the federal government for its efforts to secure the border.
Senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn along with Congressional Republicans from Texas want the $11 billion dollars requested by Governor Greg Abbott to be included in the bill that House and Senate Republicans are working on to pass President Trump's agenda without the help from Democrats.
Earlier this month, Texas GOP Congressman Tony Gonzales of San Antonio asked the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for her opinion about the state getting paid back. "Yeah, it's been an incredible, the partnership Texas has put together with the federal government and how they stepped up so many times when the Biden administration did not secure our border," responded Noem. "Texas filled the gap. There have not been any decisions on reimbursing states, but I know the Governors have asked for it. We've appreciated their help."
Gonzales said, "It's not fair for the last four years a lot of our states have been on their own and had to pay out of pocket. I think it's a great opportunity for the federal government to reimburse some of these states. I'm certainly committed to making sure Texas gets reimbursed for some of the funding we've done along the border."
Decline in border crossings
The number of people entering the southern border illegally continues to show steep declines since last year.
U.S. Customs and Border Patrol statistics show that during the first four months of 2025, there were more than 96,000 people apprehended at the southern border.
That's a fraction of the number from the first four months of 2024, when more than 735,000 people were apprehended at the southern border.
While these numbers are sharply lower, the immigration courts are seeing historically high volumes of cases.
There are 3.6 million immigration cases pending in the U.S., , or TRAC. The organization keeps data on the federal government's enforcement activities. Two million of those pending cases are asylum-seekers, including 225,000 in Dallas.
Paul Hunker, former chief counsel for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Dallas, said in an interview that the backlog is "quite extensive."
"Increased apprehensions created it, so a lot of people apprehended at the border and then released and put into removal proceedings," Hunker said. "It got worse during the Biden administration."
CBS News Texas sat in on several dockets in Dallas' immigration court, where dozens of asylum-seekers received court dates. All were scheduled for years away, most of them in 2028.
In the U.S., about 700 immigration judges are serving 71 courts. Hunker said that is not nearly enough to clear the current backlog.
TRAC data shows on average in the past five fiscal years, 56% of asylum cases have been denied.
