James Talarico Torches Biden's Border Policies in Scathing Attack Ad as Progressive Works to Turn Texas Blue

In a new ad, James Talarico criticizes Joe Biden over border security, but a 2019 interview shows he called for cutting Texas's total $800 million budget.

WATCH: James Talarico criticizes Biden's border policies in his new campaign ad

Texas Senate candidate James Talarico's campaign released an ad Monday claiming he has criticized former President Joe Biden's border policies as "failing" Americans, despite an undisclosed request to cut Texas' entire border security budget.

Texas Democratic candidate for US Senate James Talarico appears to be moderating his previous leftist stances as he blasted former President Joe Biden for his "incompetence on border security" in a new ad released on Monday.

Despite taking a seemingly hawkish and far-right border stance in a recent ad, Talarico previously called for cuts to Texas' entire border security budget in an undisclosed interview.

"I called out Joe Biden, who beat us at the border," Talarico says in the opening of the ad released this week.

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"We also send about $800 million every two years for ``border security enhancements'' to the border with Mexico," Talarico said in the interview, more than seven years ago.

A two-year deal to allocate $400 million a year to border security in Texas was the state's entire budget for illegal immigration at the time Talarico called for a replacement.

"I would rather take that money and put it back into public education and help increase the primary appropriation, for example," he said in the interview.

Tallarico has stepped up his efforts to unseat the moderates amid allegations that he is seeking to win a Senate seat in notoriously red Texas. His move toward a more moderate stance on immigration only began when he ran for Senate in the state with the highest illegal immigration rate.

In this interview, he said: Placing a number of boats, planes and border guards at the physical border is expensive and does not solve the problem.

According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), his 2019 criticism of border enforcement became apparent when border crossings under the Trump administration hit a 55-year low in 2025. The reduction in illegal immigration followed a series of immigration enforcement measures implemented by the government.

"Everyone will admit that this is just a political position," Talarico said in the interview. Some lawmakers want to appease the extreme parts of their base. And they do it by pumping money we don't have to the limit.

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In his Senate race, Talarico now bills himself as a "border security" Democrat, despite a long history of pushing back on reform and border security officials.

Talarico, a former member of the Texas Legislature and former school teacher, has repeatedly been in the spotlight for many of his far-left controversies, most notably his comments on immigration enforcement calling for the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), claiming that "it's time to abolish this secret police force."

Talarico also refers to illegal aliens as his "clients."

He called Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott's border security policies "criminal" and accused him of "hunting" illegal immigrants. The Senate candidate also said he has "educated a lot of illegal students" and that those illegal aliens are more patriotic than Americans.

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"James supports stronger border security and immigration enforcement — that's why he's called for more Border Patrol agents and said we should arrest and deport violent criminals and human traffickers — not mothers and babies," he continued.

The Texas Senate candidate was briefly absent from the campaign trail this month, prompting viral rumors that he was in a behavioral health facility. Talarico denied the claims after clearing the air about his whereabouts on Friday, assuring voters he was recovering from the flu.

Talarico is running against Republican Ken Paxton for the Texas Senate seat. As November midterms approach, the competition remains close.

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