EL PASO, Texas – In response to Texas being a primary location for individuals crossing the border illegally, state officials are offering President-elect Donald Trump a ranch to use as a departure point for migrants facing deportation. On Tuesday, Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham proposed a 1,400-acre ranch located near the South Texas border to serve as a mass deportation center. Buckingham acquired the ranch earlier this year after the former owner denied permission for Texas to construct a border wall on the property.

“I am dedicated to utilizing every means available to ensure complete security of our border,” Buckingham stated to Trump, emphasizing that the land could be used for processing, detaining, and deporting “violent criminals.”

Trump ran on a promise to initiate the largest mass deportation operation in U.S. history. His transition team affirmed their intention to take immediate action.

While Trump has consistently indicated that he will focus on deporting violent offenders, he has also suggested that the deportation program may encompass as many as 20 million individuals, a number significantly exceeding those with criminal histories.

The largest previous mass deportation, which took place in the 1950s, saw over 1 million people, primarily Mexicans but also some U.S. citizens, deported in a sweep from California to Chicago. Experts suggest that the upcoming deportation initiative could potentially target not only violent offenders but also individuals who have lived in the U.S. for many years without proper documentation.

“Local and state authorities who have been at the forefront of the border challenges under the Biden administration have faced difficulties for four years and are looking forward to President Trump’s return to the White House,” said Karoline Leavitt, a spokeswoman for the Trump-Vance transition team. “From Day 1, President Trump will use every available power to secure the border, safeguard their communities, and initiate the largest mass deportation operation targeting illegal immigrant criminals in our history.”

This ranch in Starr County is part of a sector under the U.S. Border Patrol’s supervision, where there were typically over 40,000 migrant encounters per month in 2022 and 2023.

However, the number of migrant encounters has drastically decreased over the past year across Texas and all along the U.S.-Mexico border, following tight restrictions on asylum access imposed by the Biden administration in June and enhanced border enforcement by Mexico. Texas officials also attribute this drop to their efforts, reporting that last month just over 5,000 migrants were encountered by Border Patrol in the Rio Grande Sector.

Texas shifts from border opponent to ally

The proposal for the ranch is consistent with Texas’s ongoing efforts to push the federal government to take action on border issues, ranging from facilitating Trump’s border wall to transporting migrants to cities such as New York, Denver, and Chicago.

This move also signifies a shift from the previous adversarial stance Texas had with the Biden administration, which many voters believe failed to manage border security effectively, even with a noted decrease in illegal crossings over the last year.

Texas has invested over $11 billion in taxpayer funds on its border security program, known as Operation Lone Star, since 2021.

“As long as the federal government does not take appropriate measures to secure the border, Texas will continue to employ every resource and strategy to tackle the border crisis and protect Texans,” stated Andrew Mahaleris, spokesperson for Texas Governor Greg Abbott, in a recent interview with YSL News.

Additionally, 21 Republican-led states have actively sent their National Guard and law enforcement personnel to the Texas border. This includes Kristi Noem, the Governor of South Dakota, who was the first governor to deploy National Guard troops to the Mexican border, and also nominated by Trump for the role of Homeland Security secretary.

Democratic cities and states gearing up for immigration dispute

In response, Democratic-run cities and states across the nation are preparing to strengthen protections for immigrant communities ahead of Trump’s inauguration. Many Democrats believe that immigrants who have committed serious crimes should be deported but are concerned that Trump’s military-backed efforts will also affect families, children, and those seeking asylum.

California Governor Gavin Newsom has called for a special legislative session in December to ensure resources are available to legally contest Trump’s plans. Meanwhile, Chicago’s Board of Education has passed a resolution to uphold its commitment to safeguarding immigrant students with various legal statuses, and New York City’s immigrant affairs commissioner has affirmed that the city will continue to enforce its sanctuary laws that protect immigrants.

Michael Kagan, director of the University of Nevada-Las Vegas Immigration Clinic, noted that many immigrant advocacy organizations doubt that Trump’s deportation strategy will exclusively focus on violent offenders. However, to achieve the significant number of deportations he has pledged, experts indicate that it would likely involve nonviolent migrants as well.

“Trump has many supporters wanting to see large groups of people deported, but if he focuses solely on violent offenders, he won’t have the numbers he promised,” Kagan pointed out. Statistics indicate that immigrants are typically less likely to commit violent acts than U.S.-born citizens.

“When Trump talks about mass deportations, if his goal is sheer numbers, he will have to remove undocumented individuals who have been integrating into American neighborhoods—people who are just lacking proper documentation,” he elaborated. “I believe even some of Trump’s supporters wouldn’t want that to occur.”

“Under Biden, the spotlight was predominantly on the border. By nature, those coming through the border are viewed as outsiders. However, Trump’s approach is redirecting attention to immigrants who have long resided in our communities,” Kagan remarked. “Some voters who backed Trump might not have anticipated this shift.”