Abbott, Texas leadership approve almost $500M in additional Operation Lone Star funding

Almost $500 million in additional funding has been approved by Texas state leadership for Operation Lone Star and other border operations.

Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, House Speaker Dade Phelan, Senate Finance Committee Chair Joan Huffman and House Appropriations Committee Chair Greg Bonnen approved the transfer of $495.3 million from general revenue funds to address immediate border security needs while possible future funding continues to be evaluated. 

The majority of those funds, $465.3 million, will be used to support the deployment of the Texas National Guard. The other $30 million will be used to support border operations in other state agencies, says a joint approval letter signed by Abbott, Patrick, Phelan, Huffman and Bonnen.

This additional funding comes after Abbott announced new directives as part of the state's border security efforts in early April.

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This new wave of funding also comes after 22-year-old Texas Army National Guard Sgt. Bishop E. Evans of Arlington, a guardsman assigned to Operation Lone Star, drowned while attempting to rescue migrants in a river at the state’s border with Mexico. It’s believed Evans is the seventh Texas National Guard member to die while deployed as part of Operation Lone Star.

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Death benefits gap highlighted after Specialist Bishop E. Evans loses life in Operation Lone Star

Texas Army National Guard Specialist Bishop E. Evans lost his life trying to save migrants in a river at the border of Texas and Mexico. Evans' family does not get any death benefits due to Evans being a national guard, and Operation Lone Star being a state deployment.