Texas Comptroller Don Huffines said the approximately $7.5 billion the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has approved to reimburse Texas for border security costs is the first installment of what the federal government owes the state, according to a Sept. 21 news release from the Comptroller’s office.
The reimbursement comes from the State Border Security Reinforcement Fund, a Department of Homeland Security program created in 2025 to repay states that covered border security costs the federal government did not, the release said. Texas sought repayment for costs it has carried since 2021 under Operation Lone Star, including deploying Texas National Guard and Department of Public Safety personnel, building border barriers and funding related operations.
“This is step one in making Texas whole,” Huffines said in the release. He credited President Trump with what he called a responsible federal border security policy and said Texas taxpayers had been forced to cover the bill because, in his words, the Biden administration “refused to enforce the law and opened our border.”
According to the comptroller, the $7.5 billion covers only the state’s direct border security operations and not the broader costs Texas has absorbed. “Border security spending is a fraction of what this cost us,” Huffines said, contending that Texas has spent tens of billions of dollars on schooling, incarceration and emergency health care tied to illegal immigration. “That invoice is still outstanding, and I intend to keep an accounting of it,” he said.
The funds have not yet been transferred to the state, the release noted. Once received, the reimbursement will be deposited into the state treasury. Because the money repays costs Texas has already paid, it will be available for appropriation by the 90th Legislature when it convenes in January 2027, according to the Comptroller’s office.
Huffines tied the incoming money to the next session’s tax debate. “This money is coming back where it belongs,” he said. “Combined with continued growth in sales tax revenue, it puts the Legislature in a far stronger position to deliver meaningful property tax relief next session.”
The comptroller’s statement signals that state leaders view the federal payment as a starting point rather than a final settlement, with the timing of the transfer and any further reimbursement still to be determined.