AUSTIN, Texas — The state of Texas is offering to give over 1,400 acres of land near the U.S.-Mexico border to the incoming Trump administration to use for deportation facilities. 

In a letter to President-elect Donald Trump, Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham formally offered a 1,402-acre ranch–located 35 miles west of McAllen, Texas–to help assist in a mass deportation effort.

“My office is fully prepared to enter into an agreement with the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or the United States Border Patrol to allow a facility to be built for the processing, detention, and coordination of the largest deportation of violent criminals in the nation’s history,” the letter reads. 

The land, located in Starr County, was purchased by the Texas General Land Office on Oct. 23, 2024. Less than 24 hours after buying the land, Buckingham’s office granted a 1.45-mile long easement to allow the state’s border wall to be built across the land.

According to Buckingham’s letter, the previous owner of the ranch refused to allow a wall to be built on her property and “actively blocked law enforcement from accessing the property.”

“I am committed to using every available means at my disposal to gain complete operational security of our border,” the letter states. 

Buckingham later spoke to Fox News to discuss her plan to gift the land, and she said she is “100% on board with the Trump administration’s pledge to get these criminals out of our country, and we are more than happy to offer our resources to facilitate those deportations of these violent criminals.”

Throughout his campaign, Trump promised to conduct one of the nation’s largest mass deportations of undocumented immigrants in American history.

It is estimated that over 11 million undocumented immigrants currently live in the U.S., and any mass deportation operation would require a large amount of funding, manpower and resources. 

Trump previously suggested he would use the National Guard, and maybe even the active military, to target undocumented immigrants. 

Texas will likely play a crucial part in the enforcement of Trump’s immigration plans. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has already made border enforcement one of his top priorities over the past couple of years with his multibillion-dollar border security effort–Operation Lone Star.

AUSTIN, Texas (KXXV) — Texas lawmakers have filed a record-breaking 1,500 bills for the 2025 legislative session.

25 News’ Lauren Adams spoke to Representative Pat Curry about one bill he’s already filed that has to do with abortion.

Newly elected State Representative Pat Curry has already filed a proposed law that has to do with prohibiting mifepristone from being used to end pregnancies.

Mifepristone is used in combination with another drug to terminate pregnancies less than 70 days in duration by blocking the effects of progesterone, a hormone needed for a pregnancy to continue.

“We don’t want it used as birth control, so I have a bill for that,” Curry said.

He introduced House Bill 1339 which would designate mifepristone a schedule IV controlled substance with penalties for possession without a prescription.

“Now a child can get it. We don’t want children to get it. Number two we want to make sure the people who do get it get it through a doctor for the right usage,” Curry said.

Some physicians oppose limiting Mifepristone and it’s partner drug Misoprostol, fearing it could slow down administering it to women hemorrhaging during miscarriage, child birth or postpartum.

25 News was there Monday as Pat Curry was sworn as the newest state representative.

He vowed to represent McLennan County’s “conservative values” in Austin, and he says this abortion-related bill is reflective of that promise.

“I will carry the conservative values to this town and make sure we vote conservatively,” Curry said.

The state of Louisiana classified the drug Mifepristone as a controlled substance last legislative session.

Several Houston elementary and middle schools are at the top of the class when it comes to educating and preparing the next generation for a successful life and career, according to U.S. News & World Report’s just-released list of 2025 Elementary and Middle Schools Rankings.

One such school – T.H. Rogers School in Houston ISD – is the No. 8 best middle school in Texas for 2025.

U.S. News ranked over 79,000 public schools on the state and district level using data from the U.S. Department of Education. Schools were analyzed based on their students’ proficiencies in mathematics and reading/language arts on state assessments, and tie-breakers were decided based on student-teacher ratios.

Texas’ best middle schools for 2025
Three Houston middle schools achieved spots among the top 10 best Texas middle schools for 2025, according to U.S. News.

T.H. Rogers School has a total enrollment of 1,063 students, with 87 percent of the student population scoring “at or above the proficient level” in mathematics, and 90 percent proficiency in reading. The school has a student-teacher ratio of 17:1, with 62 full-time teachers.

T.H. Rogers School also topped the district-wide list as the No. 1 best middle school in HISD.

Houston Gateway Academy – Coral Campus also ranked among the statewide top 10, coming in at No. 9 with a total enrollment of 914 students. U.S. News says 82 percent of HGA students are proficient in math, and 80 percent are proficient in reading.

“Houston Gateway Academy – Coral Campus did better in math and better in reading in this metric compared with students across the state,” U.S. News said in the school’s profile. “In Texas, 51 percent of students tested at or above the proficient level for reading, and 41 percent tested at or above that level for math.”

Right behind HGA to round out the top 10 best Texas middle schools is Houston ISD’s Briarmeadow Charter School. This middle school has 600 students, 69 percent of which are proficient in math and 74 percent are proficient reading.

Briarmeadow’s student-teacher ratio is 16:1, which is better than the district-wide student-teacher ratio, and it employs 38 full-time teachers.

U.S. News also ranked Briarmeadow as the second best middle school in Houston ISD.

Six additional Houston-area schools ranked among the top 25 best middle schools in Texas, including:

• No. 18 – Cornerstone Academy, Spring Branch ISD
• No. 19 – Mandarin Immersion Magnet School, Houston ISD
• No. 21 – Smith Middle School, Cypress-Fairbanks ISD
• No. 22 – Seven Lakes Junior High, Katy ISD
• No. 23 – Houston Gateway Academy
• No. 25 – Beckendorff Junior High, Katy ISD

The best elementary schools in Texas
Jesus A. Kawas Elementary school in Laredo was crowned the No. 1 elementary school in Texas for 2025, while two Houston-area schools made it into the top 10.

Tomball ISD’s Creekside Forest Elementary in The Woodlands is the No. 7 best elementary school statewide, boasting 656 students, 42 full-time teachers, and one full-time counselor. Students at this school, which U.S. News designates is situated in a “fringe rural setting,” scored 90 percent efficiency in math and 94 percent efficiency in reading.

Following one spot behind Creekside Forest in the statewide ranking is Sugar Land’s Commonwealth Elementary School in Fort Bend ISD, coming in at No. 8. Commonwealth has a student population of 954 with 55 full-time teachers, and two full-time counselors. The school’s student-teacher ratio is 17:1, and 90 percent of students are proficient in math, and 94 percent in reading.

U.S. News says student success at Commonwealth is significantly higher than the rest of Fort Bend ISD.

Other Houston-area schools that were ranked among the 25 best in Texas are:

• No. 13 – Bess Campbell Elementary, Sugar Land, Lamar CISD
• No. 20 – West University Elementary, Houston ISD
• No. 23 – T.H. Rogers School, Houston ISD
• No. 25 – Griffin Elementary, Katy ISD

“The 2025 Best Elementary and Middle Schools rankings offer parents a way to evaluate how schools are providing a high-quality education and preparing students for future success,” said LaMont Jones, Ed.D., the managing editor for Education at U.S. News. “The data empowers families and communities to advocate for their children’s education. Research continues to indicate that how students perform academically at these early grade levels is a big factor in their success in high school and beyond.”