(Texas Scorecard) – A Texas state lawmaker is calling on state officials to explore sending illegal alien inmates serving time in Texas prisons to a notorious facility in El Salvador, following the lead of President Donald Trump.
In a letter sent this week, State Rep. David Lowe (R–North Richland Hills) urged Gov. Greg Abbott, Secretary of State Jane Nelson, and officials with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to consider international incarceration contracts that would allow Texas to transfer illegal alien inmates to El Salvador’s Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT), a high-security prison known for housing dangerous gang members.
“As of February 28, 2025, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) reported 12,164 inmates claiming a foreign place of birth,” Lowe wrote. “Of those, 5,870 have been identified by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as being in the United States illegally.”
Lowe said 101 of those inmates are serving life without parole, and that the cost to incarcerate them places a “significant and ongoing burden” on the state’s correctional system.
According to the Legislative Budget Board, the daily cost of incarcerating an inmate in Texas is $86.50. When applied to eligible foreign-born inmates, that cost amounts to more than $191 million yearly—yet the federal government reimbursed Texas just $11.1 million last year, or only 6 percent of the actual cost.
“This overwhelming imbalance compels us to explore innovative and cost-saving alternatives,” said Lowe. “Fortunately, President Donald Trump has already provided a powerful solution.”
Trump, meanwhile, has made headlines for deporting violent criminals—alleged members of the MS-13 and Tren de Aragua gangs—to El Salvador, where they were taken to the CECOT facility. The prison, built under President Nayib Bukele, has gained international attention for its focus on controlling gang violence.
Lowe says the same model could work for Texas. He’s formally requesting that the state evaluate the legal and diplomatic logistics of transferring inmates to CECOT to finish their sentences, intending to deport them to their home countries upon completion.
“This proposal could significantly alleviate the burden on Texas taxpayers and our correctional system, while still ensuring that justice is served,” Lowe said, adding that cost savings should be returned to Texans through property tax relief.