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Hidalgo County approves application for Operation Lone Star grant despite public opposition
Summary
On March 18, 2025, Hidalgo County Commissioners Court voted to authorize an application for fiscal-year 2026 Operation Lone Star funds and to designate County Judge Richard F. Cortez as the grantee official, drawing public criticism from local advocacy groups.
Hidalgo County Commissioners Court voted March 18 to authorize submission of an application for fiscal year 2026 Operation Lone Star grant funds from the Office of the Governor, Homeland Security Division, and to designate County Judge Richard F. Cortez as the grantee’s authorized official.
The decision came after more than a dozen members of local advocacy groups urged the court not to accept Operation Lone Star money, saying the state program has militarized the border and diverted resources from infrastructure and social services. Opponents urged the court to seek alternative funding for colonia infrastructure and other local priorities.
The county’s emergency-management director, Belinda Alvarez, presented the item to the court, telling commissioners the application and related resolutions are standard…
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