El Paso County officials say it’s time the state of Texas pays for Operation Lone Star arrests

El Paso County leaders say a recent surge in migrant arrests by the state has cost the border county millions of dollars and spurred them to issue a disaster declaration this week — a move they have avoided for more than two years.

El Paso County Judge Ricardo Samaniego on Tuesday signed the disaster declaration, a necessary step for the county to become eligible to apply for up to $5 million of grants reserved for local governments that participate in Operation Lone Star, the state’s multi-billion-dollar border security mission.

Gov. Greg Abbott launched the program in March 2021, shortly after President Joe Biden took office, arguing that the state needed to step up because the federal government wasn’t doing its job to secure the border. The border security mission has resulted in at least 516,300 migrant apprehensions and more than 45,300 criminal arrests across the Texas-Mexico border, according to Abbott’s office.

El Pasoans have been reluctant to align themselves with that mission for fear of sowing distrust in a community known for welcoming new migrants. But the need for state funds has become dire, Samaniego told The Texas Tribune in an interview this week, leaving the county with no choice but to issue the declaration.

<bsp-list-loadmore data-module="" class=«PageListStandardB» data-gtm-region=«RELATED COVERAGE» data-gtm-topic=«No Value» data-show-loadmore=«true»