Texas claims border islands used by Mexican cartels, asks Trump admin to secure and defend

EXCLUSIVE: They say everything is bigger in Texas, and the Lone Star State itself is growing a bit. 

In a letter to border czar Tom Homan, Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham requested that the Trump administration secure and defend Beaver Island, a 20.3-arce island in Starr County, Texas, and the Roma Islands. 

Both islands have been used by cartels for criminal activity, authorities said. The Roma Islands, which are 12.13 and 20.3 acres respectively, are located near Roma, Texas, and have been called a "smuggler's paradise." 

The determination will permit law enforcement to conduct security operations in the area. 

The cartels have built structures on the islands where they stash weapons, bombs, drugs and people, she said. 

Once an island is designated as part of Texas, authorities will clear the area of vegetation, which cartels use to conceal their movements and illegal operations, and throw up razor wire in an effort to get full operational control, said Buckingham. 

In her letter to Homan, Buckingham noted that Fronton Island, a 170-arce formerly lawless island in the Rio Grande, was declared to be part of Texas in 2023. 

"Besides being the first woman land commissioner Texas has ever had, it's pretty fun also being the first person to make Texas bigger in a few hundred years," Buckingham said of the addition of islands to the state. 

She further noted that the Trump administration has been cooperative with Texas authorities, resulting in a 95% reduction in illegal traffic across the border. 

"It's completely different than it is now," she said.