Answers needed in wake of border drowning

On April 22 in Eagle Pass, Texas National Guard soldier Bishop E. Evans shed his body armor and rushed into the Rio Grande to rescue two migrants struggling in the current. The 22-year-old specialist from Arlington died saving others. Crews recovered his body Monday a mile from where he disappeared.

The migrants survived and were placed in U.S. Customs and Border Protection custody.

Evans was at the river as part of Operation Lone Star, Gov. Greg Abbott’s controversial and deeply flawed border security mission that the state claims has mobilized 10,000 guardsmen and state troopers.

Evans’ death isn’t the first tragedy to strike the operation. Since Jan. 1, two soldiers have died from personal firearm accidents. Another four soldiers died by suicide in 2021.

Before Evans’ death, we’d heard accounts of other guardsmen helping people from the river and wondered about their safety, training and equipment considering Operation Lone Star’s logistics, morale, pay and transparency problems.

Despite the mission’s obvious political nature, Evans carried on with his service as soldiers do. When he saw people in trouble, he exemplified humanity and sacrifice with his decision to dive into the water.

Politicians on both sides seized Evans’ story — before his body was found — and made it part of their talking points. Republicans were quick to blame President Joe Biden’s border policies, arguing that guardsmen wouldn’t have to be deployed if the federal government were more forceful in addressing immigration. Democrats pointed to Abbott’s border militarization, noting that immigration is a federal issue and Operation Lone Star is a politicized state response.

True, the federal government has failed on comprehensive immigration reform that would meaningfully balance security and immigration needs. But Operation Lone Star is overtly political, overstepping federal authority, placing migrants in detention for trespassing and disrupting the lives of guardsmen.

But these points are often made for political purposes, not policy or better understanding. While we support the planned surge in resources to the border in advance of Title 42’s repeal, we see no bipartisan groundswell for serious, comprehensive immigration reform.

Consider how a group of Republican lawmakers touring the border Monday invoked Evans’ name — one did so incorrectly — to score political points.

Evans’ bravery and humanity should be honored. Why he was at the border — because immigration has been politicized at the expense of understanding — should be scorned.

Without elaborating, the Texas Rangers and Texas Military Department claim the two migrants were trafficking narcotics. But we are more interested in why Evans was deployed, and why he lacked a flotation device given the dangers of the river.

Evans’ unnecessary death demands answers from Abbott and the Texas Military Department, especially on the question of the availability and use of proper flotation equipment.

Fundamentally, though, the public should demand comprehensive immigration reform. Currently, 2,500 federalized National Guard troops are on the border. Air Force Gen. Glen Van-Herck, commander of Northern Command, which is responsible for homeland defense, told the Air Force Times on Monday that the answer is not more troops on the border but a better-funded Customs and Border Protection agency.

Placing troops at the border is not an immigration solution. Comprehensive reform would recognize security concerns, investing in so-called “smart wall” technology to help identify crossings and protect private property. But comprehensive reform would also honor asylum law (and speed up the timeline for processing claims), recognize the important role migrants have in our workforce and offer pathways to citizenship. Comprehensive reform also includes addressing the root causes of immigration in other countries.

As we mourn the loss of Evans, we are reminded of another border tragedy that riveted the nation nearly three years ago: the deaths of a father and his 2-year-old daughter, Valeria, migrants from El Salvador who drowned crossing the Rio Grande.

Until lawmakers seek to understand the border, and not politicize it, we fear nothing will change. One must wonder, what is the true point of Operation Lone Star? How does it meaningfully address immigration? What solutions does it offer? What lasting partnerships has it built? What understanding has it cultivated?

The political posturing is discordant with Evans’ last public Facebook post from October: “If I have ever helped you, in anyway. I need you to pay me back, by paying it forward. Help others and make my job a bit easier.”

Rest in peace, Bishop Evans. May we all live by your words.

Guardsman’s death deserves

a meaningful response, not a

political one

Verónica G. Cárdenas / New York Times Two women wait to be processed by Border Patrol agents last month after crossing the Rio Grande into Eagle Pass. Until lawmakers seek to understand what is happening at the border, not politicize it, nothing will change.

Evans