Gov. Greg Abbott declared a border security emergency in 2021, during the Biden administration, and has renewed or amended it at least 69 times since, including 21 times during President Donald Trump's current term, according to a report from The Texas Tribune and ProPublica. The order is a disaster proclamation and is the longest continuously running emergency declaration Abbott has issued. In September 2026 he renewed it again, asserting that border crossings remain an “ongoing and imminent threat.”
The numbers on the ground have changed sharply. In May 2021, Border Patrol made more than 180,000 apprehensions along the southwest border in a single month. This year, apprehensions average about 8,000 a month, the report says, and the Trump administration says crossings have reached historic lows since January 2025.
What the proclamation does is the heart of the story. It expands the governor's powers without legislative approval, allowing him to shift funds, suspend regulations and award noncompetitive contracts. It also underpins a provision under which police can charge immigrants with criminal trespassing for crossing through private property. Texas budgeted more than $11 billion for border security during the Biden years and added about $3 billion last year, and the governor's office received nearly $230 million last year for grants, mostly to local prosecutors and agencies involved in Operation Lone Star.
The Tribune and ProPublica found that 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, including purchases of a Ford F-150, rifles and apartments. At least six were awarded during Trump's second term, including one worth more than $2 million to CTC Gunworks for rifles and pistols; the company could not be reached for comment. DPS told the reporters it still seeks best-value vendors and that the contracts were tied to existing state agreements. Abbott's office did not answer specific questions about the noncompetitive awards.
Abbott's office defends the order. Spokesperson Madeline Waschak said border security is an ongoing priority that requires continued vigilance and that the governor will keep the tools in place to work with the Trump administration on deportations. Abbott said in early October that Texas must secure the border “for the next two years of the Trump administration” and beyond, speaking after the federal government agreed to reimburse the state $7.5 billion for border costs.
Critics, including some academics and a Democratic lawmaker, raise questions about accountability rather than the goal of border security. SMU political scientist Cal Jillson called the situation “unprecedented,” given the emergency's length. State Rep. Mary González, a Democrat, said border money remains in the governor's office without adequate checks, and that lawmakers of both parties want to scale back border funding next session. University of Houston political scientist Brandon Rottinghaus described emergency power as a “quiet power” that governors are reluctant to give up once they have it. Bills filed last year by lawmakers of both parties to require legislative approval for disaster extensions did not pass.
Why it matters to Texas readers. Securing the border is a legitimate function of government, and many Texans credit the state's actions for the drop in crossings. Good stewardship, though, also means open books. Taxpayers can support strong border enforcement and still ask for competitive bidding and clear accounting of the dollars involved. The 2027 legislative session is likely to revisit both questions.