Texas house speaker directs committee to study annexing parts of New Mexico

[Jilly_in_VA]

The speaker of Texas’s house of representatives says he is entertaining the idea of expanding the state by annexing some New Mexico counties.

Dustin Burrows, who has been the chamber’s speaker since 2025, ordered a state legislative committee on 26 March to look into the legal and economic options to add “one or more contiguous counties” of New Mexico to the state of Texas.

The office of the New Mexico governor, Michelle Lujan Grisham, and some of her fellow state Democratic politicians summarily dismissed the idea, with Lujan Grisham’s office saying it is “not a serious proposal”.

Burrows set off the controversy by issuing an order to establish a new committee to study whether counties in the south-eastern part of New Mexico could be annexed.

For years, south-eastern New Mexico counties have pointed to political differences between themselves and the state’s capital, Democratic-led Santa Fe.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/30/texas-study-annexing-new-mexico

I don't think this is legal.

[Torchlight]

1. If NM is ignoring this as is, it's already dead in the water.

As I understand it, if any land/territory/property from an existing state were to join another state, the consent of both state legislatures as well as federal Congress would be required. From my chair, if NM simply ignores this, it goes nowhere.

[yellowcanine]

2. This has as much chance as Eastern Oregon joining Idaho.

Which is to say, no chance.

[Mad_Machine76]

6. Or Indiana annexing part of Illinois

I'm glad at least that it's too difficult of a process for it to be easily successful.

[Ritabert]

3. Any New Mexican who went for that would be crazy.

Considering how bad Texas is it'd be stupid.

[jls4561]

4. Of course it's not legal. Neither was the invasion of Crimea. Nor was sending troops into Sudetenland.

Just because your propaganda machine says that an adjacent landmass resembles your landmass, that doesn’t mean you have the right to seize it.

[Kid Berwyn]

5. Dustin Burrows must be a NAZI's NAZI.

Little traitor made himself up to look just like Jefferson Davis.

[Ilsa]

7. Maybe New Mexico could annex that west wing of Tx.

They'd annex El Paso and alot of sparsely populated land with tumble weeds rolling across.

[Johonny]

8. Am I safe to assume he doesnt know New Mexico

Is already part of America...

[alittlelark]

9. Crazy talk from crazy people