Texas Governor Greg Abbott met with the president Wednesday in Washington D.C. Abbott's office says he is meeting Donald Trump in the Oval Office to talk about "their continued partnership in securing the southern border and keeping Americans safe."
During the discussion, Abbott made a new pledge to Trump.
That pledge was to offer the Trump administration 4,000 jail cells in state prisons across Texas to detain migrants. Speaking from the executive order signing event in the White House, Abbott shared that since Trump won the election, illegal crossings at the border have plummeted. He also stated that the military presence at the border has helped tremendously.
"We were going from thousands a day to dozens of day," Gov. Abbott said. "There are no sight of people trying to cross the border."
Abbott spoke to the media after President Trump signed an executive order. Both discussed several topics about the border including his request for more than $11 billion from the federal government to reimburse Texas for its efforts to secure the border.
Abbott launched "Operation Lone Star" after Joe Biden took office in 2021. The operation sent Department of Public Safety troopers and members of the Texas National Guard to the border to address an increase in people trying to cross the Rio Grande.
Through last week, Abbott says more than 530,800 people were caught trying to cross illegally; 50,470 were arrested on criminal charges. He says state and federal authorities also seized enough fentanyl to kill 623 million people.
Donald Trump singled out Abbott during a speech to supporters after his inauguration in January.
"He did an unbelievable job," Trump said. "He was a very popular governor, but now he's, like, an unbeatable governor because of your border policies. He was fantastic."
During the inauguration speech, Trump said Abbott would have a "partner that's going to work with you." Trump said he would work with Abbott to build additional miles of wall, saying, "I wanted that sucker to go up maybe 50, 60 feet."
Abbott's chief of staff says the governor also planned to ask about reimbursement for the cost of sending manpower to the border. Republican members of Congress from Texas have said they would support reimbursement, but that would require approval of representatives from other states.
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