Texas GOP Reps Vow To Block DHS Funding Over Border Dispute

A group of Republican representatives from Texas vowed to block appropriations to the Department of Homeland Security over the Biden administration’s border security policies, as well as the administration’s lawsuit against Texas regarding the border.

The Biden administration sued Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas over the placement of a barrier, comprising floating buoys, in the Rio Grande River to prevent illegal immigrants from crossing the river into the United States. In response, members of Texas’s delegation to the House of Representatives held a press conference castigating the Biden administration for its action. They further promised to block money to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) during the ongoing appropriations process in response.(RELATED: Border Patrol Sees Massive Surge In Illegal Migrants On Terror Watchlist)

“Under no circumstances am I going to support any appropriation to the Department of Homeland Security, any continuing resolution, at all. I will use every tool at my disposal to thwart giving another dollar to this Secretary to leave Texas exposed to the dangers and get assaulted on a daily basis by this invasion,” said Republican Rep. Chip Roy of Texas, who represents portions of San Antonio and Austin.

“Under no circumstances am I going to support any appropriation to Department Homeland Security — any continuing resolution at all — I will use every tool at my disposal to thwart giving another dollar to this [DHS] secretary to leave Texas exposed” to Biden’s Border Crisis: pic.twitter.com/8nLofYbh8P

— Rep. Chip Roy Press Office (@RepChipRoy) July 27, 2023

“I don’t know why we would continue to give money to a federal government, from the Congress, whose power of the purse, as James Madison said, was the actual barrier to the tyranny of the executive branch. Why would we fund a federal government that is at war with the state of Texas and endangering our people and migrants in the process,” he added.

Roy was joined by other Republican representatives from Texas, such as Lance Gooden and Michael Cloud.

“I will not support any appropriations bill that spends any funds on these activities. American tax dollars are being used to fuel this crisis,” said Gooden, referring to DHS’s measures of releasing migrants into the United States after being apprehended, which they claim is in response to overcrowding at detention facilities.

“We will push back against any bill that sends money to this administration regarding current border policy,” Cloud said.

The House of Representatives is currently considering 12 appropriations bills to fund the federal government, which must be passed by Sept. 30 to avoid a government shutdown. The Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act is one of them, which has been drafted by House Republicans and includes funding for measures that the GOP has supported — such as the construction of a physical border wall and an increase in custody space for illegal immigrants detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

“We have to use the power of the purse,” said Republican Rep. Jodey Arrington of Texas, chair of the House Budget Committee, signaling his support for the idea. “We’ve been given the majority by the American people, in large part because of the biggest national security threat along the southern border, to do everything in our power to resource the things that will help secure the border.”

“It’s got to go more than riders,” Roy said of his expectations for appropriations regarding border security. “I don’t want a couple of riders added onto an appropriations bill that this administration is going to ignore like they ignore virtually every other law … We need to see Texas paid back for 9 to 10 billion dollars,” Roy said, referring to the estimated cost of Texas’s Operation Lone Star for border enforcement.

The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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