DHS Provides Texas $9 Million in Additional Border Security Funding

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) provided an additional payment of $9 million in border security funds. The payment is in addition to a previous $4 million grant awarded to the state earlier this year.

DHS officials provided $9 million in grant funding to the State of Texas under the Operation Stonegarden Grant Program. Texas has now received a total of $13 million of the $30 million authorized in Operations Orders by DHS, according to a statement from the Office of the Texas Governor.

Stonegarden provides grant funding through the State of Texas for the Texas Department of Public Safety, Kickapoo Traditional Tribe, and 16 other local law enforcement agencies in eight Texas border counties, the governor’s office stated. Those counties include: Cameron, Kenedy, McMullen, Presidio, Starr, Sutton, Val Verde, and Webb Counties.

The governor’s office said the funds will be utilized for:

• Upgrades to essential flight displays, global positioning systems, and overtime for DPS personnel supporting United States Border Patrol (USBP) with air patrols in each BP Sector along the Texas/Mexico border,
• Body armor and overtime for Town of Laguna Vista officers participating in border patrol operations,
• Specialized patrol vehicles for officers and deputies working overtime from the City of Falfurrias, City of Laredo, McMullen, Refugio, and Starr counties, as well as the Kickapoo Tribe,
• Overtime and other operational costs for local agencies such as the counties listed above and the cities of Eagle Pass, Harlingen, Junction, and Town of Combes.

“Texas’ border security efforts require a variety of strategies and approaches to keep our communities safe, and these additional grants will provide much-needed resources to law enforcement agencies to maintain their robust operations,” Texas Governor Greg Abbott said in a written statement. “I am committed to working alongside the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to secure our southern border, and I thank the men and women of law enforcement for working tirelessly to keep our border communities secure.”

In April 2019, DHS officials announced that Operation Stonegarden would provide $90 million to states to “enhance cooperation and coordination among local, tribal, territorial, state, and federal law enforcement agencies to jointly enhance security along the United States land and water borders.”