You guys all set up? OK. So, uh, this was a very productive day on just a common sense issue. It's an issue where in Texas, listen, we've already signed two laws banning men in women's sports. What happened today, however, was setting a standard for the United States of America, ripping apart the executive order that was put in place by Joe Biden that was completely lawless, in fact overturned by a court, but also establishing -- establishing just a very common sense standard, and that is no men in women's sports.
This is a nonpartisan, bipartisan, issue that the overwhelming majority of Americans support and I and governors and other officials from across the country as well as women across the country are so proud of President Trump for stepping up and signing this executive order today. I?ll take a few questions.
[Crosstalk]
Can you talk more about your conversation with President Trump and Tom Homan earlier this morning? What were the topics discussed and what role will Texas play?
So, listen, Tom Homan and I stay in touch quite often and we talk about strategies that we may use or ways that we can work together. And I'll just leave it at that. With regard to the president, we again talked about what was maybe the most pivotal issue in his campaign, the one that Americans wanted to make sure he got elected on and that was securing the border.
First we talked about how successful it was, how much illegal immigration has dropped in the state of Texas to just a mere trickle. Then we talked about other things that we're doing. So, Texas has completed more than 50 miles of border wall. We're going to be adding another about 20 miles of border wall here in the coming days.
It's under construction right now and we've acquired more than 100 miles of easement. I'll let the president know that all of that is available for the United States of America. Texas built two military bases that can house 2,000 soldiers in one base, 400 soldiers in another base. I made sure the president know that was available to him.
I let the president know that we have identified 4,000 jail cells in the state of Texas that can be used as detention facilities. So, we're just continuing to find ways we can assist the Trump administration and finally securing our border.
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Can you talk about the $11 billion reimbursement for Operation Lone Star?
Sure.
And offer to help you get that money?
Yeah. So -- so, listen, I brought up the topic as I have, uh, both with Speaker Johnson, with members of Congress. I'll be back again next week to talk more about that with members of Congress, uh, but yeah, listen -- and he understands that in part, this is in a way a real estate transaction because Texas can transfer to the United States of America, uh, value of well over $5 billion or $6 billion of real assets on the ground that Texas put in place that will continue to secure the United States for decades to come.
[Crosstalk]
Did any of the flights to Guantanamo leave from Texas?
I have no information about that.
Can you expound on the $5 billion to $6 billion? Is that land or --
Yeah, so, uh, on the border wall itself more than 50 miles and adding the 20 miles we're working on right now --
[Crosstalk]
[Inaudible]?
No, this is, uh, during the past four years. Uh, so what Texas is seeking, uh, is reimbursement to the state of Texas of about $11 billion of cost incurred over the past four years because of the unprecedented illegal crossings that took place that has never before happened. And what Texas did, uh, we've -- we've already finished 56 miles of border wall, uh, we have under construction another 18 miles of border wall.
Uh, we've acquired, and in the process of finishing, the acquisition of more than 100 miles of land, uh, for more than 100 miles more of border wall. Those are real tangible real estate assets for the federal government. It's the same wall that Trump built. So, it's the same specifics, same schematics, all that.
And so, it's turning over an asset that the Trump administration, or the United States of America, would have invested in. But it's more than that. Uh, for the next four years, for the United States of America to have a physical location, a base of operation, one is in Eagle Pass, another is in Del Rio where the United States of America can use about 2,500 beds for, it could be military, it could be for border patrol, it could be for ICE agents, whatever the case may be. That is there for them to be able to use.
Also, the state of Texas is offering 4,000 prison cells at no cost to the United States that they will be able to use, uh, for at least the next four years or longer than that if it's needed. And so, there are ways in which there's a -- there's valuable real estate, uh, that can be transferred ownership from the state of Texas to ownership to the United States of America, and that the -- the value of that is close to $6 billion.
Did he go for that that deal? Is he going to --
He understood exactly what he's -- Listen, he has to talk to his advisers. He has to talk to Congress just like I do.
And governor, can you confirm if Mexican troops have arrived at the border and what you've seen? Is there any progress on that?
Yeah, I personally have not seen them. I know that the announcement has been made about the Mexican troops going to the border. I can tell you what I've seen in the past, and that is whenever Mexico does send troops to the border, it has an immediate impact, and immediate reduction in the number of people crossing the border illegally.
And I just have to assume that this will replicate this. And this could even be larger because in the past I've seen 1,000 or 2000, not 10,000. If they do that, it'll have an enormous impact and we will see an almost immediate elimination of any illegal border crossings.
-- Congress concerning your reimbursement request so far? And -- any appropriators, what was their response like so far?
Sure. So, the -- I have sat down with the speaker and the speaker's office and had the opportunity to visit with all the key leaders of the Texas Republican delegation, which is the largest Republican delegation in Congress, and many of those who are involved either in appropriations or budget and things like that and they are enthusiastically working with their fellow members.
I have reports back from them about this. This is something that the Republicans in particular across the country, but there's no reason why it shouldn't be partisan. People are excited about helping out because they know the fact I'm about to tell you, Texas law enforcement have seized more than 600 million deadly doses of fentanyl.
Texas law enforcement alone has seized more than enough fentanyl to kill every man, woman and child in the United States, Canada and Mexico combined. Here's the point. None of us know, and we'll never know, how many lives were saved because of Texas law enforcement getting that fentanyl off the streets before it got into other states killing people across the country.
[Crosstalk]
Last question. The Mexican cartel authorized the use of weaponized drones --
Yeah. Can you repeat? I missed the first part of your question.
There's been reports of the Mexican cartels authorizing the use of weaponized drones against Border Patrol agents as well as these recent shootings on the border. Did -- does law enforcement or the National Guard have plans to combat this?
Yeah. So, before President Trump was elected for this second term, during the Biden Administration, both Texas law enforcement and Texas National Guard have been fired upon across the border, had had encountered drones across the border. And now with this clampdown, that exacerbates the situation with the cartels and there's every expectation that they're going to elevate their level of activity.
And especially with the advancement and capabilities of drones, both the United States and Texas. And every border state needs to be prepared to defend themselves and maybe engage in responding as the case may be. Thank you all very much.
Thank you. Thank you.