Texas reduced illegal immigration into the state by 85% before Donald Trump was elected.
Posted by The Benny Show, Checked
- Sources
- 1 contradict2 support
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 50%
The Benny ShowOct 28, 2026
The sources do not confirm an 85% figure. They attribute a 87% reduction in border crossings to Operation Lone Star (Governor Abbott's claim, repeated in the Congressional Record) and a 74% decrease to a later Texas government release, both covering the period before Trump's 2025 return.
A detail. The sources confirm the gist; the verdict faults a detail such as a date, number or wording.
A guest makes this claim. Listeners heard it, so it counts against the post, and on the guest's own record.
What was said
… Come to Texas. Let's sneak in. We got and also, because of the barriers that we built, we denied illegal entry into the state. In fact, before Trump got elected, Texas had reduced illegal immigration into our state by 85%, just the state of Texas. However, so that doesn't solve the country's problem because they started going to New Mexico, to Arizona, to California. So that's right, I can guard Texas, but it requires the president to guard the United States of America. …
The Benny Show · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Contradicts. A Texas governor's office release reports a 74% decrease in illegal crossings since Operation Lone Star launched, a different figure from the 85% claimed.[1]
Supports. The Congressional Record (Cornyn speech) reports Governor Abbott's claim that Operation Lone Star enabled Texas to reduce illegal immigration across the state border by 87 percent, which is close to the claimed 85% and predates Trump's 2025 return.[2][3]
Context. The 85% figure in the Congressional Record describes apprehensions falling after Trump took office, a different measure and time period from a pre-election reduction in Texas crossings.[2]
Context. The 87% and 74% figures are self-reported by the Texas governor's office and repeated in a Senate speech, so they are not independent verification of the specific 85% figure.[1][2][3]
Sources
3 sources: 3 primary
- 1Operation Lone Star Decreases Illegal Crossings Into Texas By 74%gov.texas.gov · primary source · cited for: contradicts, context
- 2CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATEcongress.gov · primary source · cited for: supports, context
- 3Congressional Record, Volume 171 Issue 84 (Monday, May 19 ...govinfo.gov · primary source · cited for: supports, context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
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