Sign up for TPR Today, Texas Public Radio's newsletter that brings our top stories to your inbox each morning.
Gov. Greg Abbott said this week that Texas has started to close a South Texas jail booking facility in Jim Hogg County amid a drop in immigrant encounters along the Southwest border.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported less than 300 apprehensions per day in February.
The booking facility was opened in 2022 as part of Abbott's border security initiative, Operation Lone Star, to process immigrants who were arrested for committing border-related crimes in the area.
“There is no longer a need for Texas to maintain the jail booking facility in Jim Hogg County,” Abbott said in a statement. “Texas will continue to assist the Trump administration in arresting, detaining, and deporting illegal immigrants.”
Texas will close the jail booking facility in Jim Hogg County thanks to @realDonaldTrump’s swift action to secure our border.
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) March 17, 2025
The Trump Administration is quickly deporting illegal immigrants.
As a result, there's no longer a need for Texas to maintain the jail booking facility. pic.twitter.com/NQHznY13JH
The state has already started to phase out operations at the facility. It's expected to officially close next month.
Abbott said the state has offered the facility to the Trump administration for federal border operations.
On the federal level, CBP also announced last week it closed a temporary immigrant processing facility in Eagle Pass.
