WASHINGTON — The new Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins returned to her home state of Texas to meet with farmers affected by severe water shortages and announce hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to help them. Texas Republicans pin the problem on Mexico failing to meet its obligations to provide water to the U.S. under a treaty.

What You Need To Know

  • Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, a Texas native, joined Texas Republicans Sen. Ted Cruz and Rep. Monica De La Cruz for a roundtable this week with South Texas farmers facing a water shortage 

  • This week, the Department of Agriculture announced it was expediting $10 billion in aid to farmers facing higher costs and reduced crop prices and Rollins said $280 million of that will be provided to farmers in the Rio Grande Valley 

  • Cruz and De La Cruz accuse Mexico of failing to deliver enough water to the U.S. as required under an 80-year-old treaty and Texas lawmakers have urged the State Department to pressure Mexico to release more water

  • The U.S. and Mexico last November reached an agreement that gives Mexico tools and incentives to deliver water earlier and more regularly

Last year, the owner of England Cattle Co. had to close his sugar mill in Mercedes, Texas. Hundreds of acres of their land in the Rio Grande Valley were once filled with thriving sugarcane fields, but no more. 

In Edinburg, Texas, Héctor Pérez told Spectrum News his farm has half the number of citrus trees than just a few decades ago.

The lack of water in the Rio Grande Valley is so pronounced, lawmakers in Washington are getting involved.

“We are facing a water crisis in South Texas,” Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said. 

That water crisis, Texas Republicans in Congress say, is because of Mexico. 

They accuse Mexico of failing to deliver enough water to the U.S. as required under an 80-year-old treaty. Texas lawmakers have urged the State Department to pressure Mexico to release more water.

“I believe with President Trump in office, and the new administration, we are going to get the water. Mexico is going to comply. Ignoring the treaty will no longer be an option for Mexico,” Cruz said at a press conference alongside Rollins.  

“Food security is national security, and getting our water back from the Mexican government is of utmost importance,” said Rep. Monica De La Cruz, R-Edinburg.  

Rollins, a Texas native, joined Cruz and De La Cruz for a roundtable Wednesday with Texas farmers. 

“We are here to fight for the farmers and the ranchers of this area of the country,” Rollins said.

This week, the Department of Agriculture announced it was expediting $10 billion in aid to farmers facing higher costs and reduced crop prices. $280 million of that, Rollins said, will be provided to South Texas farmers.

“We will begin that disbursement immediately. The way it will work is we’ll block grant that to your great Texas Department of Agriculture here in Texas, and Commissioner Sid Miller and his team, we’ve got his team here today, will be the ones to begin immediately moving that money out. But listen, that’s only a short-term fix. We know that long term that Mexico has to abide by those terms in that agreement,” Rollins said. 

The U.S. and Mexico last November reached an agreement that gives Mexico tools and incentives to deliver water earlier and more regularly. According to the International Boundary and Water Commission, which manages the treaty, the tools include identifying conservation, water efficiency and new water source projects. Mexico has been dealing with its own water shortage and addressing the crisis is a priority of new Mexican President Claudia Scheinbaum.