Texas could be reimbursed billions for border crisis costs under new legislation | Washington Examiner
By: anna-giaritelli (Washington Examiner)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
A TexasRepublican will put forward a plan for the federal government to reimburse border states billions of dollars spent on security and immigration issues absent adequate help from Washington.
Ahead of the State of the Union next Tuesday, Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) will debut the State Border Security Reimbursement Act that would help states like Arizona and Texas recover from massive expenditures at the border over the past decade, including responding to illegal immigration, drug smuggling, and related matters.
"If your state has spent more than $2.5 billion on securing the border, doing the federal government's job, then there should be some reimbursement for that," Crenshaw told the Washington Examiner in previewing his forthcoming legislation.
Texas budgets dating back a decade show the state has spent just shy of $3 billion over the past five legislative cycles on border security, which take place every other year. Texas would be eligible for federal reimbursement.
"Citizens of border States are being taxed twice for the same purpose. States using their taxpayer dollars and allocating state budgets to meet public safety obligations, which fall under federal responsibilities, imposes an undue burden on the state," the bill states.
Despite Crenshaw's enthusiasm, support from Democrats could prove to be a challenge.
Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX), whose district is at the eastern end of the southern border and runs along the Gulf of Mexico, told the Washington Examiner that he supported the idea of the federal government fully reimbursing local governments for costs incurred responding to the border but held out on endorsing Crenshaw's plan.
"Our border communities should absolutely be reimbursed for picking up the federal government's slack on border security and irregular migration surges that we have seen," Gonzalez said in a statement Friday. "However, routing funds through states has been done before and has not benefited communities like those that I represent. I hope to visit with congressman Crenshaw about this and see how we can work together on this issue."
If passed, states would be reimbursed within one year after the federal government receives an application for reimbursement.
Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) and Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) did not respond to requests for comment on whether they back the legislation.
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Any location that ever called itself a sanctuary for immigrants should not get any money.
This legislation won't go anywhere unless New York is included. And even then Democrats would try to cheat the border states to pump more money into New York.