Texas Quietly Downsizes Border Security Spending

Texas Quietly Downsizes Border Security Spending

Without any announcement or open debate, the Republican-controlled Texas Legislature passed a biennial state budget that will effectively halve the amount dedicated to its multi-billion-dollar border security operations—from a proposed $6.5 billion down to about $3.4 billion.  This marks the first time that GOP lawmakers have pulled back on their border security spending since Governor Rick Perry inaugurated state operations in the 2000s and Gov…