Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Ammon Blair, senior fellow at the Texas Public Policy Foundation and a former Army service member and Border Patrol agent with over 30 years of combined federal service, testifies before the Texas House Committee on Homeland Security, Public Safety and Veterans Affairs on foreign adversary influence and transparency enforcement.
Blair argues that Texas law enforcement lacks the intelligence tools and data access, such as Palantir-style link analysis capabilities, needed to map and act on threats from cartels, the Chinese Communist Party, and Islamist organizations. He says a majority of local law enforcement agencies are not meaningfully integrated into the state's Homeland Security Task Force despite reporting otherwise, and describes Operation Lone Star Task Force's recent engagement with the Department of War over information sharing gaps.
Blair states he is drafting legislation for the next session that builds on TPPF's proposed "Engel list" and expands on House Bill 45 from the prior session, and references a Nebraska bill as a possible model for Texas. He also says that roughly 95 percent of intelligence reaching task force agencies through the Texas Fusion Center is not actionable, and describes barriers Texas DPS and local agencies face in accessing federal identity-verification systems even under 287(g) agreements.
The Texas Public Policy Foundation’s mission is to promote and defend liberty, personal responsibility, and free enterprise in Texas and the nation by educating and affecting policymakers and the Texas public policy debate with academically sound research and outreach.
Funded by thousands of individuals, foundations, and corporations, the Foundation does not accept government funds or contributions to influence the outcomes of its research.
The public is demanding a different direction for their government, and the Texas Public Policy Foundation is providing the ideas that enable policymakers to chart that new course.
Website: texaspolicy.com
X: twitter.com/tppf
Facebook: facebook.com/texaspolicy
Instagram: instagram.com/texaspolicy
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/texas-public-policy-foundation
Ammon Blair, senior fellow at the Texas Public Policy Foundation and a former Army service member and Border Patrol agent with over 30 years of combined federal service, testifies before the Texas House Committee on Homeland Security, Public Safety and Veterans Affairs on foreign adversary influence and transparency enforcement.
Blair argues that Texas law enforcement lacks the intelligence tools and data access, such as Palantir-style link analysis capabilities, needed to map and act on threats from cartels, the Chinese Communist Party, and Islamist organizations. He says a majority of local law enforcement agencies are not meaningfully integrated into the state's Homeland Security Task Force despite reporting otherwise, and describes Operation Lone Star Task Force's recent engagement with the Department of War over information sharing gaps.
Blair states he is drafting legislation for the next session that builds on TPPF's proposed "Engel list" and expands on House Bill 45 from the prior session, and references a Nebraska bill as a possible model for Texas. He also says that roughly 95 percent of intelligence reaching task force agencies through the Texas Fusion Center is not actionable, and describes barriers Texas DPS and local agencies face in accessing federal identity-verification systems even under 287(g) agreements.
The Texas Public Policy Foundation’s mission is to promote and defend liberty, personal responsibility, and free enterprise in Texas and the nation by educating and affecting policymakers and the Texas public policy debate with academically sound research and outreach.
Funded by thousands of individuals, foundations, and corporations, the Foundation does not accept government funds or contributions to influence the outcomes of its research.
The public is demanding a different direction for their government, and the Texas Public Policy Foundation is providing the ideas that enable policymakers to chart that new course.
Website: texaspolicy.com
X: twitter.com/tppf
Facebook: facebook.com/texaspolicy
Instagram: instagram.com/texaspolicy
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/texas-public-policy-foundation
