Democratic members of Texas鈥� Congressional delegation have asked the Biden administration to review if Texas is misusing federal pandemic relief money to fund Gov. Greg Abbott鈥檚 controversial border mission.
The to U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen comes after Abbott鈥檚 late April announcement of Texas' of nearly $500 million from state agencies to Operation Lone Star, a multi-billion dollar border-security effort Abbott launched in 2021 in response to what Abbott said were President Biden鈥檚 鈥渙pen-border鈥� policies. The operation has sent hundreds of Texas Department of Public Safety and state National Guard units to the border.
鈥淭his additional funding ensures the Lone Star State is fully equipped to provide Texans the border security strategy they demand and deserve," Abbott said in a when the funds were diverted.
In November 2021, Abbott also signed to allocate about $16 billion in federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act for state use. But the Democrats now question if that money is being spent on the 鈥渇ailed鈥� border program.
鈥淎s you have stated in your agency鈥檚 Final Rule for the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds, the funding should be used to replace lost public sector revenue due to the pandemic, respond to the far-reaching public health and negative economic impacts of the pandemic, provide premium pay for essential workers, and invest in water, sewer, and broadband infrastructure,鈥� the lawmakers wrote to Yellen. 鈥淚nstead, Governor Abbott is taking this funding away from integral public sector resources and allocating it to Operation Lone Star.鈥�
The letter was signed by U.S. Reps. Joaquin Castro of San Antonio; Veronica Escobar of El Paso; Sylvia Garcia of Houston; Lizzie Fletcher of Houston; Colin Allred of Dallas; Sheila Jackson Lee of Houston; Mark Veasy of Fort Worth; Al Green of Houston and Lloyd Doggett of Austin.
In an email Renae Eze, Abbott鈥檚 press secretary, said the office has worked with the Texas Legislature to allocate federal monies under current guidelines.
鈥淲e have worked with the legislature to allocate federal funds in a manner that adheres to federal guidance. Between legislative sessions, in the event of a disaster, there are mechanisms to re-allocate state dollars if necessary to respond to the disaster鈥攁nd we have had to use $4 billion of state dollars for Operation Lone Star to do the federal government鈥檚 job,鈥� Eze said. 鈥淩ather than attacking Texas for responding to their border disaster that they have created and escalated in the last year, President Biden and Democrats in Congress need to stop playing politics and do their jobs to secure our border.鈥�
The recent, nearly $500 million reallocation came from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, ($53.6 million); the Texas Department of Public Safety ($159.2 million); the Texas Health and Human Services Commission ($210.6 million); the Texas Department of State Health Services ($36 million); the Texas Alcoholic and Beverage Commission TABC ($4.3 million) and the Texas Juvenile Justice Department ($31 million). In a letter to the department directors, Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, House Speaker Dade Phelan and other lawmakers said the request to transfer the funds came from the agencies themselves and the 鈥渢ransfer(s) will not affect any agency or program function.鈥�
At least one of the agencies, the Texas Juvenile Justice Department, is already in the Biden administration鈥檚 cross hairs after the U.S. Department of Justice announced an investigation into five of its facilities after allegations of abuse toward children in its care from TJJD employees, Texas Public Radio .
The call for an investigation into Operation Lone Star鈥檚 funding follows months of criticism surrounding the mission鈥檚 price tag 鈥� which is now more than $2 billion 鈥� the deaths by suicide of four National Guard units deployed to the border, and last month鈥檚 during a rescue attempt in the Rio Grande.
The request by Castro and the other Texas Democrats for a review of the program comes after a group of public defenders asked the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate Operation Lone Star in April.
In a dated April 6, the Public Defenders Coalition for Immigrant Justice called the operation 鈥渁 racist immigration enforcement program masked as local criminal law enforcement鈥� and an 鈥渁ffront to the criminal legal system in this country.鈥�
The letter was submitted, in part, by the public defender offices of Travis, Bexar, Harris and Dallas counties. The Public Defenders Coalition for Immigrant Justice did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the status of that request.
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