Texas Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa has not committed to preserving Republican Gov. Greg Abbott\u2019s massive Operation Lone Star border-security program after defeating him Tuesday.<\/p>\n
During another recent interview, Hinojosa declined to identify specific border-security\u2026
\nHinojosa, a Democratic state representative from Austin, defeated the three-term incumbent and<\/p>\n
will become Texas\u2019 first Democratic governor since Ann Richards.<\/p>\n
Her victory immediately raises questions about the future of Abbott\u2019s signature border initiative, which has made Texas a leading state partner in immigration enforcement.<\/p>\n
Operation Lone Star has cost Texas more than $11 billion since Abbott launched the program in 2021 during former President Joe Biden\u2019s administration.<\/p>\n
Texas has constructed sections of its own border barrier and deployed more than 10,000 National Guard members through the initiative.<\/p>\n
Hinojosa has repeatedly criticized Abbott\u2019s handling of the program and voted against its initial funding, but she has not promised to eliminate it.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs governor, I\u2019ll put in the work to secure the border, not waste working Texans\u2019 money on political theater,\u201d Hinojosa said.<\/p>\n
During another recent interview, Hinojosa declined to identify specific border-security spending she would eliminate after taking office.<\/p>\n
Instead, she argued that billions had been spent prosecuting migrants for trespassing while taxpayers also financed their legal representation.<\/p>\n
\u201cPublic safety shouldn\u2019t be a political stunt,\u201d Hinojosa said while discussing her approach to the border.<\/p>\n
Abbott emerged as one of the nation\u2019s most aggressive Republican\u2026
\n\u201cI will spend the money it takes to keep our community safe, not for political theater,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
Those comments leave open the possibility that portions of Operation Lone Star could survive under Hinojosa while other elements are dismantled or redirected.<\/p>\n
Hinojosa has been particularly clear in opposing additional border-wall construction in the Big Bend region, arguing that such barriers are unnecessary there.<\/p>\n
She has also sharply criticized Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Texas cooperation with certain federal immigration operations.<\/p>\n
Hinojosa previously accused Abbott of turning Texas into a \u201cstaging ground\u201d for federal enforcement operations she said harmed families and benefited political donors.<\/p>\n
At the same time, Hinojosa has acknowledged that Trump administration\u2026<\/p>\n
At the same time, Hinojosa has acknowledged that Trump administration immigration policies have substantially reduced illegal crossings, NewsNation reported.<\/p>\n
She specifically praised President Donald Trump for policies that contributed to declining<\/p>\n
illegal border crossings, creating a more complicated immigration position than her criticism of Abbott suggests.<\/p>\n
The changing conditions at the southern border could give Hinojosa additional flexibility when determining how much of Operation Lone Star remains necessary.<\/p>\n
Illegal crossings have fallen substantially under Trump, reducing the pressure Texas faced
\nduring the Biden administration when encounters repeatedly reached record levels.<\/p>\n
Hinojosa has argued that cooperation with Mexico and federal authorities can produce better results than some of Abbott\u2019s state-directed enforcement efforts.<\/p>\n
She has cited an earlier episode involving an international bridge closure in which she contacted the Biden administration and federal officials subsequently negotiated with Mexico.<\/p>\n
Her victory could nevertheless dramatically change Texas\u2019 relationship with the Trump administration on immigration enforcement.<\/p>\n
Abbott emerged as one of the nation\u2019s most aggressive Republican governors on border security during Biden\u2019s presidency.<\/p>\n
His administration deployed state personnel, installed razor wire, constructed border barriers and transported migrants to Democratic-led cities across the country.<\/p>\n
Hinojosa\u2019s election could mean Texas is less willing to provide the same level of state assistance for federal immigration enforcement.<\/p>\n
That possibility is particularly significant because Texas shares approximately 1,250 miles of international border with Mexico, more than any other state.<\/p>\n
Hinojosa\u2019s victory also came despite Abbott dramatically outspending her during the campaign.<\/p>\n
The Democrat ran heavily on affordability, public education and opposition to what she characterized as excessive corporate influence in state government.<\/p>\n
She has proposed using Texas\u2019 enormous budget reserves to provide households with
\none-time $1,500 payments while also pushing for Medicaid expansion.<\/p>\n
Immigration, however, could produce some of her earliest and most consequential decisions after taking office.<\/p>\n
Republicans retain control of the Texas Senate, potentially limiting portions of Hinojosa\u2019s legislative agenda and forcing negotiations over future border appropriations.<\/p>\n
Operation Lone Star\u2019s future will ultimately depend on those budget\u2026<\/p>\n
Operation Lone Star\u2019s future will ultimately depend on those budget battles and the executive decisions Hinojosa makes after succeeding Abbott in January.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Texas Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa has not committed to preserving Republican Gov. Greg Abbott\u2019s massive Operation Lone Star border-security program after defeating him Tuesday. During another recent interview, Hinojosa declined to … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":391,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-390","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/medianewsfi.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/390","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/medianewsfi.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/medianewsfi.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medianewsfi.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medianewsfi.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=390"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/medianewsfi.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/390\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":392,"href":"https:\/\/medianewsfi.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/390\/revisions\/392"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medianewsfi.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/391"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/medianewsfi.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=390"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medianewsfi.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=390"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medianewsfi.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=390"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}