From the Texas Tribune: Gov. Greg Abbott redirects $500 million from other agencies to fund border security mission through end of fiscal year

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Relevant terms. 

- Operation Lone Star.

Gov. Greg Abbott said Friday he is moving another $500 million to fund Operation Lone Star, his border security initiative at the Texas-Mexico border. The move comes three weeks after state military officials said the multibillion-dollar operation was in need of an infusion of cash to keep it afloat through the end of the fiscal year.

Abbott said the money would be taken from the budgets of other Texas agencies, including nearly $210 million from the state’s Health and Human Services Commission over two years and about $160 million from the Texas Department of Public Safety. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Department of State Health Services and Juvenile Justice Department will each see tens of millions of dollars taken from their budgets to fund the border mission, Abbott said.

In a letter to the agencies, Abbott said that “this transfer will not affect any agency or program function.” The governor's office did not answer whether the agencies would be reimbursed later or would see budget cuts, and instead referred questions back to Abbott's original announcement.

Operation Lone Star’s price tag for taxpayers is upwards of $2 billion a year. State officials already transferred another $480 million from other agencies in January to keep the operation running through the spring.