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Bo French, the Republican nominee for the Texas Railroad Commission, has made mass deportation a prominent part of his public messaging even though immigration and citizenship are outside the commission's jurisdiction. At CPAC Texas on March 27, 2026, he called for the United States to deport 100 million people. Four days later, in an interview with Spectrum News, he said people he described as refusing to assimilate should be removed “regardless of status.”
Quick answer
At CPAC Texas on March 27, 2026, Bo French said roughly 100 million people in the country should not be here. In a March 31 Spectrum interview, he said people who refuse to assimilate and call for overthrowing the Constitution should be removed “regardless of status.”
At the Conservative Political Action Conference in Grapevine, Texas, French said: “It is that we have roughly 100 million people in this country who shouldn't be here. They don't share our values.”
The Texas Tribune reported the same day that he had called for the deportation of 100 million people, nearly a third of the country's population.
On March 31, Spectrum News reported that French doubled down on the proposal.
In an interview with Capital Tonight, he said:
“Many of these people refuse to assimilate and openly call for the overthrow of our Constitution. People like that, regardless of status, should be removed from the country.”
Spectrum also reported that French had said on X that his 100 million figure included “50 million illegal aliens and 55 million foreign visa holders.”
Pew Research Center estimated that 14 million unauthorized immigrants lived in the United States in 2023, the latest complete estimate in its August 2025 report.
That is far below 100 million. The Texas Tribune, comparing French's figure with Pew's estimate, reported that his proposal would include millions of American citizens.
French's public calls for removal have not been limited to people without legal status. In August 2025, while serving as Tarrant County GOP chair, French called on federal officials to “denaturalize and deport” Texas state Rep. Salman Bhojani, a Democrat who was born in Pakistan. The Texas Tribune later identified Bhojani as a naturalized U.S. citizen.
The September 2026 Texas Tribune review also reported that French had called for the deportation of Texas House Democratic leader Gene Wu. The article separately documented French's repeated focus on immigration and cultural issues before and during his Railroad Commission campaign.
Read the full record: Bo French and Muslims
Read the full record: birthright citizenship and denaturalization
A Dallas Morning News review of French's X account found that, after he defeated incumbent Railroad Commissioner Jim Wright in the Republican runoff, French posted more than 1,700 times, an average of 16 posts a day.
The review counted at least 283 posts touching on Muslims in the United States, mass deportation, or what the newspaper described as a decline of American culture resulting from immigration. During the same period, it counted 122 posts about the job he is seeking, which involves regulating and overseeing the state's oil and gas industry.
In September 2026, French drew a new round of Republican criticism after separate social-media posts about University of Texas students.
Karl Rove, writing about that later controversy, called one of French's claims “raw, uncut bigotry” and said he would vote for Democratic nominee Jon Rosenthal. Rove's comments were directed at the September UT controversy and French's broader rhetoric, not specifically at the March CPAC deportation statement.
U.S. Sen. John Cornyn also said in September that he would not vote for French. Asked whether he would vote for Rosenthal instead, Cornyn said, “I may just leave it blank.” The Texas Tribune reported those remarks in the context of the backlash over French's September social-media posts.
The Railroad Commission of Texas says its primary regulatory jurisdiction covers the oil and natural gas industry, pipelines, natural gas utilities, liquefied petroleum gas, and surface mining for coal and uranium.
Immigration enforcement, deportation, naturalization, and citizenship are not among the responsibilities listed by the agency.
Yes. The Texas Tribune reported the call from CPAC Texas on March 27, and Spectrum News quoted French saying the country had roughly 100 million people who should not be here.
Yes. Spectrum News published that phrase in its March 31 report from French's interview with Capital Tonight.
French called on federal officials to “denaturalize and deport” Rep. Salman Bhojani. The Texas Tribune identifies Bhojani as a naturalized U.S. citizen.
No. The commission's official jurisdiction centers on oil and gas, pipelines, natural gas utilities, LP gas, and certain mining activities.
Election Day is November 3, 2026.