AUSTIN (NEXSTAR) – Only minutes after being sworn in as the 47th President of the United States, President Donald Trump praised Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s border security policies and promised Texas would have support from Washington now that he was in office.
“He was a very popular governor and now he’s an unbeatable governor because of [his] border policies,” Trump said of Abbott in remarks at the Capitol following his inauguration.
To back this up, the president signed 10 immigration-related executive orders on Monday, some of which were very similar to policies already in place in Texas due to Abbott’s $11 billion border security plan – Operation Lone Star. This initiative deploys the National Guard to South Texas and funds a state-constructed border wall among other measures.
The president declared a national emergency on the southern border – promising to send troops to the area to prevent an “invasion” of illegal immigrants. He also said he would designate foreign gangs as terrorist organizations and resume construction of the border wall that had been halted during the Biden Administration. These orders resemble Abbott’s policies, which are already in place in Texas.
But Trump doesn’t stop there. He also ended parole programs put in place by former President Joe Biden and resurrected his “remain in Mexico” policy that requires asylum seekers to remain in Mexico while awaiting their case decisions.
“It’s a new day in America,” Texas Republican Congressman August Pfluger said in an interview one day after the inauguration. Pfluger represents District 11 which covers Midland-Odessa and parts of the Hill Country. He says he is optimistic about the future with President Trump.
“It’s great to know that somebody is taking up for us, securing the border, unleashing American energy, and getting us back to the prosperity we deserve,” Pfluger said.
Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham said that Trump has already started to back up the state’s efforts.
“One of the first things that President Trump did was to give state and local law enforcement some enforcement ability with regard to immigration. So that’s going to be very helpful,” Buckingham said in an interview with NewsNation Reporter Ali Bradley.
“Texas, of course, has been passing several laws already that kind of helped us get hands on these violent criminals and detain them longer,” Buckingham added. “So now we’ll have even more tools at our disposal.”
Buckingham said the state plans to utilize any means necessary to boost its partnership with the federal government and curb the illegal immigration crisis. She noted that the state’s General Land Office already offered the Trump Administration about 1400 acres of land to help with mass deportations.
Once the confirmation hearings for Department of Homeland Security nominee Kristi Noem are complete, Buckingham said she will work together with Noem and Trump’s border czar Tom Homan on additional plans.
“I have 13 million acres across the state. So we have land almost everywhere. We’ve identified pieces that we think are more helpful out of the gate. But, of course, whatever it is they need,” she said.
Buckingham also noted that the state is willing to help the federal government acquire property if necessary.
“We’ll do whatever it takes. We’re here to be a good partner again, just getting these violent criminals who’ve been hurting our sons and daughters off of our soil,” she said.
In the meantime, efforts in the state are underway to make that happen. State Senate President Pro Tempore Brandon Creighton has filed a bill to allow Texas to use eminent domain authority to build a wall along the southern border.
All of these efforts come at a cost to Texas taxpayers which the state hopes the federal government can help cover.
“Texas would like some reimbursement, especially for our efforts building the wall. Of course, a lot of our expenditures were based on increased law enforcement presence down there, but we do think it’s fair to be reimbursed,” Buckingham said.
Regardless, Buckingham said Texas won’t stop working to protect its borders and is looking forward to sharing the fight with the federal government.
“We do look forward to passing a baton to our happy federal partner, hopefully, Texas will have to spend a lot less in the future as these policies change, these lures that bring people here. And so we are excited. We think President Trump is off to an incredibly strong start,” Buckingham said.
Despite this, the 2026 and 2027 tentative budget outlines for the Texas House of Representatives and Texas Senate still include $6.5 billion for border security efforts.
