Photo of a 1,402-acre ranch along the Rio Grande at Starr County’s border with Mexico.
The Texas General Land Office says incoming border czar Tom Homan has verbally agreed to lease a parcel of rural Texas ranchland for upcoming federal border security operations.
Last month, Republican Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham said that the state bought in October 1,402 acres of border ranchland in Starr County and that, within 24 hours of the purchase, she granted a 1.45-mile long easement allowing the state's border wall to be built through the property.
Buckingham said she'd also sent President-elect Donald Trump a letter offering him use of the ranchland for deportation facilities. During his campaign for his second presidency, Trump said he planned to begin deportation efforts on his first day in office.
"By offering this newly-acquired 1400-acre property to the incoming Trump Administration for the construction of a facility for the processing, detention, and coordination of what will be the largest deportation of violent criminals in our nation's history, I stand united with President Donald Trump to ensure American families are protected," Buckingham said in a statement in November.
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On Thursday, the Texas GLO office tweeted that Homan "accepted Commissioner Buckingham's offer to lease 1,400 acres of state land to aid the Trump Administration with their upcoming border security operations."
During a recent taping of the Dr. Phil show, where Buckingham and Homan discussed the border and the land offer, Homan said he was already working on a plan for how to use the land.
"I'm writing the plan as we speak. I was working on it last night, matter of fact," Homan said. "That's 1,400 acres of land. That saves us from acquiring that land. The government never buys things real fast, and when we do, we overpay for it, so having this from the state of Texas is great."
Homan said on the show that people would be moved in and out of the facility before being deported but didn't say anything about what might be built there or when it might be operational.
NBC 5 asked the Texas GLO about the land lease terms, and they said there was no written agreement yet.
"The offer was accepted verbally by incoming Border Czar Tom Homan on the Dr. Phil Show," the Texas GLO said in an emailed response Thursday. "As the country awaits an administration change on Jan. 20, 2025, the GLO has not signed any written agreement with the Trump Administration."
Days after winning his second election, Trump nominated Homan, the former director of immigration enforcement, as the next border czar. The role is not an official government title and does not require Senate confirmation, though Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) has requested it.
