Immigration
Texas is gearing up in a big way for Trump’s mass deportation campaign
The state’s Republican leaders say they’re primed for Texas to be both the model and epicenter as the incoming administration cracks down on immigration.


At Eagle Pass, Texas, migrants cross the Rio Grande from Mexico to the United States in late September. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

By Molly Hennessy-Fiske and Arelis R. Hernández
November 29, 2024 at 7:00 a.m. EST

EAGLE PASS, Texas — While Donald Trump’s opponents denounce the president-elect’s planned “mass deportations” and border crackdown, this state’s Republican leaders are vying to make Texas the launching pad.

Gov. Greg Abbott and other top officials have spent the past four years positioning themselves as the Biden administration’s greatest antagonists — and heirs to the border enforcement campaign begun by the last Trump administration. Despite having no constitutional authority on immigration enforcement, they have used tools of the state to dramatically escalate anti-immigrant policy and legislation locally while steering a similar narrative nationally.

By Molly Hennessy-Fiske
Molly Hennessy-Fiske joined The Post in 2022 as a national reporter based in Texas covering breaking news and red states.follow on X @mollyhf

By Arelis R. Hernández
Arelis Hernández is a Texas-based border correspondent on the national desk working with the immigration team and roving the U.S. southern border. Hernández joined the Post in 2014 to cover politics and government on the local desk after spending four years as a breaking news and crime reporter at the Orlando Sentinel. follow on X @arelisrhdz