Abbott Has Renewed His Border Emergency at Least 69 Times. Crossings Have Fallen Sharply.
The 2021 disaster proclamation still lets state agencies buy without competitive bids. An investigation asks whether an emergency can last five years.
Gov. Greg Abbott renewed his border security disaster proclamation again on Sept. 14, according to his office, declaring a disaster for all affected state agencies and for 70 counties, by Dock Line's count of the counties listed in the proclamation. Since he first issued it on May 31, 2021, the proclamation says, he has renewed or amended it at least 69 times, 21 of those since President Donald Trump returned to office, ProPublica and The Texas Tribune reported Thursday.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration says illegal crossings have fallen to historic lows. Border Patrol apprehensions along the southwest border were above 180,000 a month when Abbott first declared the emergency. This year they have averaged about 8,000 a month, the report said.
What the emergency allows
Under the Texas disaster act, the proclamation lets the governor shift funds, suspend regulations and let agencies buy without competitive bidding. Since January 2025, the Department of Public Safety and the Texas Military Department have awarded more than $5 million in noncompetitive contracts citing the emergency, for items including a Ford F-150, rifles and apartments, according to state records reviewed by the reporters. One was a contract of more than $2 million with a Texas gun maker for rifles and pistols.
DPS said it still follows best practices and that the purchases were tied to existing state contracts.
The governor's answer
"The damage caused by four years of failed border policies under Democrat rule did not disappear overnight, and the progress we have made will not sustain itself without continued vigilance," Abbott spokeswoman Madeline Waschak wrote.
Abbott said in early October that Texas must secure the border "not just for the next two years of the Trump administration, but we gotta do it forever."
Who wants limits
Lawmakers from both parties filed measures last year that would have required legislative approval to extend disaster declarations. None passed. University of Houston political scientist Brandon Rottinghaus noted that a future governor of the other party could use the same reading of emergency power for years.
Emergencies should end
Securing the border is a legitimate duty, and Texans paid dearly when Washington would not do it. But a state that limits its governor by design should be careful with emergency power. If the threat is ongoing, the Legislature can fund and authorize the work in the open. Abbott is on the ballot next month; see what is on every Texas ballot. He is also seeking a different kind of emergency help for storm-hit counties.
Hero photo: Spc. James Garcia / Texas National Guard, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
