Abbott has kept the state's border emergency going for five years, including 21 renewals since Trump's return

Gov. Greg Abbott renewed his border security disaster proclamation again last month, keeping alive an emergency order he first issued in 2021 even as federal figures show border crossings at historic lows, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica reported this week.

The proclamation has been renewed or amended at least 69 times since it was first declared during the Biden administration, 21 of them since President Donald Trump took office in January 2025, according to the report. It is the longest continuously running emergency declaration Abbott has issued.

What the order allows

A disaster declaration lets the governor move money between agencies, suspend regulations and let agencies award contracts without competitive bidding. Since January 2025, the Department of Public Safety and the Texas Military Department have awarded more than $5 million in noncompetitive contracts that cite the emergency, state records reviewed by the news organizations show.

They include a contract of more than $2 million for rifles and pistols.

A DPS spokesperson said the department still follows best practices and tries to pick vendors offering the best value, and that the contracts in question were tied to existing state contracts.

Two views of the emergency

Abbott's office did not answer specific questions, but Deputy Press Secretary Madeline Waschak said in a statement that the damage from what she called four years of failed border policies under Democrats "did not disappear overnight" and that continued vigilance is needed against illegal crossings, cartel smuggling and fentanyl trafficking. At a news conference in early October, Abbott said Texas must secure the border "forever."

Critics question whether the conditions still justify emergency powers. Border Patrol apprehensions along the southwest border have averaged about 8,000 a month this year, compared with more than 180,000 in a single month when the first declaration was issued, the report said. Southern Methodist University political scientist Cal Jillson called the length of the emergency "unprecedented."

State Rep. Mary González, an El Paso Democrat who is vice chair of the House Appropriations Committee, said lawmakers have begun scaling back border spending and that there is interest in both parties in doing more.

Legislators from both parties filed bills last year that would have required legislative approval to extend a disaster declaration. None passed.

The cost

Texas budgeted more than $11 billion for border security during the Biden administration and set aside about $3 billion more last year, according to the report. In early October, Abbott discussed a $7.5 billion federal reimbursement to the state for border security costs.

Abbott is seeking a fourth term on the Nov. 3 ballot. Early voting begins Monday.

Sources

The Texas Tribune