Texas lawmakers discuss whether New Mexico counties could join the state
AUSTIN, Texas - Could a portion of New Mexico be absorbed by Texas? While it may be unlikely, the Texas Attorney General's Office told state lawmakers it was possible during a hearing of the House Select Committee on Governmental Oversight.
New Mexico lawmakers move to allow some counties to join Texas
A pair of New Mexico lawmakers, Randall Pettigrew and Jimmy Mason, introduced a constitutional amendment that would allow for groups of three or more adjacent counties to secede from the state. The pair represent three of the more Republican-leaning counties along the border.
The bill ultimately failed to make it out of committee.
Texas lawmakers on Wednesday discussed the idea in committee.
Michael Cotton, from the attorney general's office, said neither state's constitution had a provision that allows for the secession or annexing of land from adjacent states, but the U.S. Constitution does.
"So, you're saying there's a chance," Rep. Ellen Troxclair said.
Cotton said states are allowed to change their boundaries when both states agree to the change and it is approved by Congress. He noted that the most recent occurrence was an agreement between North Dakota and Minnesota in 1961.
Some members of the committee found humor in the idea of absorbing a part of New Mexico.
"Do you think the New Mexicans will greet us as liberators?" Rep. Mitch Little said.
Rep. Erin Zweiner said it was "one of the stranger issues" to be brought to the legislature.
She then jokingly proposed trading El Paso for the New Mexico counties.
"More seriously. You know, I really am concerned about how us having this conversation is going to impact our relationship with the state of New Mexico," Zweiner said.
Lawmakers say idea of secession brings issues in Permian Basin to light
Big picture view:
While the idea of Texas annexing a portion of New Mexico was mostly viewed as tongue-in-cheek, Rep. Brooks Landgraf said the idea helps shed some light on issues facing the Permian Basin region.
Landgraf's district borders two of the New Mexico counties represented by Pettigrew.
"The oil and the natural gas, they have no regard for the state boundary," Landgraf said. "So that production exists on noth sides of the state line."
Oil and natural gas extraction in the region results in a byproduct called produced water which is often pumped back into the ground by Texas operators. That leads to increased seismic activity in the region.
Landgraf said New Mexico does not allow produced water to be injected back into the ground, so that water is brought to Texas where it is reinjected into the ground.
Why you should care:
"So it's being trucked in, piped in, and reinjected into the Texas side of the Permian Basin, which means that we're upsetting that balance even more by importing produced water," he said. "And then in a lot of cases, injecting it, which is just exacerbating the problem with over pressurization and any other number of issues."
Landgraf said he didn't believe changing the states' borders was practical or likely, but it highlights the idea that the states need to work together on a solution in the region.
"If there's a problem on one side of the state line, it can very easily become a compounded problem on the other side of the state line," Landgraf said.
The Source: Information in this article comes from legislation filed in the New Mexico House of Representatives and from a Sept. 30, 2026, meeting of the Texas House Select Committee on Governmental Oversight.