$11.1 Billion. 82 Miles. 17 Deaths.
Texas has spent $11.1 billion on Operation Lone Star since March 2021. The program deployed the National Guard to the border, funded DPS patrols, built state border wall segments, installed Rio Grande buoys, and bused 121,000 migrants to Democratic-run cities.
$11.1 billion spent. 82.2 miles of wall built out of 805 planned. $28 million per mile. At the pace of half a mile per week, finishing would take 30 years and $20 billion. The program was quietly defunded in 2025.
The state built 82.2 miles of steel border wall at a cost of over $3 billion, roughly $28 million per mile. That is 8% of the 805 miles the state identified for construction. At the previous pace of half a mile per week, completing the full plan would have taken 30 years and $20 billion.
17 Guard Members Died
At least 17 National Guard soldiers have died on the OLS mission, including at least 7 by suicide. Troops reported pay shortages, unclear mission objectives, poor living conditions, depression, and PTSD. They were deployed to a domestic border operation with military resources and military risks but without a clear military mission.
No Evidence It Worked
Research consistently shows border walls create a “funnel effect,” redistributing crossings to more remote and dangerous areas rather than reducing them overall. The state’s criminal trespass arrests targeted only men, creating what defense attorneys called a discriminatory shadow criminal system.
In 2025, lawmakers quietly stopped funding new wall construction and redirected money toward DPS and National Guard operations. House Republicans added $12 billion to the federal reconciliation bill to reimburse states for border security spending, with Senator Cornyn insisting on $11 billion specifically for Texas.