WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Monday, President-elect Donald Trump will drop the hyphen and assume the office of president for the second time. Presidio County was one of a small handful of rural counties that didn’t show up to the polls in red hats, but neighboring Jeff Davis and Brewster Counties turned out to support the former leader’s return to the White House.
The border has by and large dominated political discourse this campaign cycle, with the president-elect promising “mass deportations” of the estimated 11-14 million undocumented people living and working in the United States. Elsewhere in Texas, the state has offered up land to house detention facilities and border walls. (Marfa Public Radio recently confirmed that the Brewster Ranch, a record-smashing state land acquisition adjacent to Big Bend National Park, would not be used for such purposes.)
On the local level, some folks are hoping that a Republican administration — backed by a right-wing majority in the House and Senate — will result in more funding for law enforcement, who receive grant support based on their proximity to the border.
Thanks to that triple Republican majority, Congress has launched into the reconciliation process, which essentially allows lawmakers to bypass the filibuster and sign spending-related bills on partisan legislative priorities with little backlash. The Big Bend’s representative in the House, Tony Gonzales, is a Republican who serves on both the Homeland Security and Appropriations Committees — which could be a financial boon to cash-strapped cops and courts.
At last Wednesday’s Presidio County Commissioners Court meeting, Precinct 4 Commissioner David Beebe wondered as much, after listening to a report from Presidio County Sheriffs Office Secretary Shanna Elmore, who approached the court in the process of applying for this year’s round of federal Operation Stonegarden grant funding. Operation Stonegarden is a federal initiative intending to increase border security.
Local officials decided it was too early to tell, but grant awards ballooned even during the Biden administration, which many on the right criticized for not spending enough on the border. The county netted just under a million dollars between the spring of 2021 and Inauguration Day 2025 — trailing record-breaking numbers of apprehensions.
Ramon Rodriguez, chair of the Presidio County Democrats, said he hopes that certain aspects of Trump’s immigration plan don’t trickle down locally, and he doesn’t want the focus on the border to detract from other pressing financial needs like school funding.
Rodriguez was concerned that the remote area would be sought out by speculators for detention facilities — and that ordinary residents could be harmed by increased law enforcement on the border in general. “We’ve already seen the use of military forces in places like Eagle Pass and Shelby Park, and there’s a real worry that this could expand to our area,” he said. “The increased militarization doesn’t just create tension but also puts undue stress on our communities, making everyday life more difficult for families living along the border. “
State Sen. Cesar Blanco — another Far West Texas Democrat — also brought up concerns about Trump’s tariff plan on imported goods, which could impact port cities like Presidio and his hometown of El Paso.
Blanco also wanted to highlight the economic contributions of immigrants targeted by Trump’s deportation plan, which could impact citizen members of mixed immigration status households. “This issue is particularly troubling, as immigrants play a vital role in Texas’ economic productivity, especially in West Texas,” he said. “[Immigrants] are essential contributors to industries like agriculture, construction, and general workforce services, addressing labor shortages in both low- and high-skill jobs.”