Texas border policy faces change as Gov.-elect Hinojosa prepares to succeed Abbott

Mixed · 2Democrat Gina Hinojosa, a state House legislator, is governor-elect of Texas and is due to be sworn in in January 2027, succeeding Republican Greg Abbott. 1 2 Right · 1The Washington Examiner reports that Abbott spent more than five years and $11 billion fortifying the state's 1,250-mile border with Mexico, and that those investments may be wiped away under Hinojosa. 1 Mixed · 2Abbott launched Operation Lone Star in 2021, sending Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) troopers and National Guard members to the border; Newsweek says it also meant billions of dollars on barriers, arrests and other enforcement. 1 2

Right · 1According to the Examiner, the state built 80 miles of border wall by the end of 2025, bused nearly 120,000 migrants north at a cost of $221 million, and says its authorities have encountered more than 536,000 people, including more than 61,000 arrested on criminal charges. 1 Right · 1Hinojosa has criticised Operation Lone Star and state cooperation with ICE. In an October statement she said she would "put in the work to secure the border [and] not waste working Texans’ money on political theater." 1 Right · 1As a legislator she voted against the sanctuary-cities ban and against making illegal border crossing a state crime, and has opposed deputising state and local police to assist ICE, according to the Examiner. 1

Centre · 1Hinojosa told Newsweek that "we all want border security, but this is not that", describing a fear among mixed-status families that "is unacceptable". 2 Centre · 1Newsweek says Texas would not currently be considered a sanctuary state, and that making it one would be complicated because Republican lawmakers, state laws and the federal government limit how far she could go; law professor Ilya Somin said Republicans still control the state Senate, so a sanctuary law is unlikely soon. 2 Centre · 1Newsweek notes she could still change matters under executive control, such as National Guard deployments, DPS priorities and use of resources, particularly as federal border agencies now receive more funding under the Trump administration. 2

Mixed · 2Ammon Blair of the Texas Public Policy Foundation told the Examiner he "100%" expects an overhaul and suggested she could halt participation in the federal Operation Stonegarden grants; he told Newsweek that officials inherit the lawful duties of the office. 1 2 Centre · 1Immigrant-rights voices welcomed the change: the ACLU of Texas hopes resources will be redirected, and University of Texas immigration clinic director Denise Gilman said Operation Lone Star could end and there will likely be "much less money and emphasis" on cooperation with federal enforcement. 2 Right · 1Anonymous Border Patrol sources told the Examiner they were uncertain: one called the election a "punch in the gut" and feared Texas would bar cooperation, while a senior official said the agency is nonpartisan and the job is unchanged. Rep. Michael Guest (R-MS) said the federal government still controls the border and DHS has the resources it needs. 1

Left · 1Inside Climate News reports that Democrats swept all 18 statewide races in Texas, will control the state House for the first time in 24 years and will hold every U.S. House seat along the border from San Diego to Brownsville, while Republicans keep the state Senate. 3 Left · 1The outlet says Hinojosa and Sen.-elect James Talarico vowed to fight border wall construction in Big Bend, but the Trump administration still has the funding and statutory authority to continue it; the One Big Beautiful Bill Act appropriated $46.5 billion for border barriers. 3 Left · 1It adds that the Supreme Court on Monday overturned an injunction that had paused Big Bend construction, and that Democratic state legislators filed bills to bar border wall construction in state parks; incoming Land Commissioner Ben Flores, a Democrat, said he would not voluntarily authorise construction on General Land Office land and is "prepared for a prolonged legal battle". 3

Left · 1Advocates quoted by Inside Climate News urged Democrats in Congress to use investigations of confidential DHS contracts and appropriations restrictions to limit construction; analyst Adam Isacson said transparency is where Democrats have "the biggest short-term power". 3