Thousands of migrants arrested in Texas
Governor’s Operation Lone Star draws praise, ire
Ivan Nava and David Muñoz, friends from Guerrero, Mexico, crossed into the U.S. together in June without permission. They hoped to connect with relatives, find jobs and map out better lives for their families back in Mexico.
Instead, they sat in a Texas prison for seven weeks, unclear as to the charges against them or what awaited them.
They are two of thousands of migrants who crossed into Texas from Mexico this year without proper documentation and were rounded up as part of Operation Lone Star, Gov. Greg Abbott’s initiative to use state troopers and National Guard soldiers to help bolster federal immigration enforcement.
On Tuesday, a Texas district court judge dismissed the charges of criminal trespassing against Nava and Muñoz after prosecutors were unprepared to present probable cause. Advocates hailed it as a victory against Operation Lone Star, which they allege is unconstitutional and flouts federal laws. Supporters of the policy claim it’s Abbott’s right to stop undocumented migrants from streaming into Texas if the federal government fails at the task.
Both men remain in custody. State officials could hand them over to federal immigration agents, who may detain or deport them. Or they could be released into the U.S. to await an immigration hearing.
The same judge who presided over the Nava-muñoz case on Tuesday ordered the release of 243 migrants arrested under Operation Lone Star on no-cost bonds after prosecutors agreed to the releases. Many of the men had been jailed without charges for more than two weeks, according to Texas Riogrande Legal Aid, which represented the migrants.
The Nava-muñoz case and other legal challenges could have far-reaching consequences if higher courts take up the case or other states mimic Texas’ policy, said Alicia Torres of Grassroots Leadership, an Austin-based immigrants advocacy group.
“If we as a nation don’t stand up to Texas and say, ‘Enough is enough’ ... we will see policies like Operation Lone Star pop up across the country,” she said.
Abbott launched Operation Lone Star in March, deploying hundreds of state troopers from the Texas Department of Public Safety, agents, rangers and National Guard soldiers to back up the Border Patrol, arrest migrants slipping through and combat smugglers. As of late August, more than 4,600 people had been arrested through the initiative for charges including criminal mischief and criminal trespassing, according to a news release from Abbott’s office.
The effort was launched as the number of migrants encountered by the Border Patrol, especially at the southwest border, soared to numbers not seen in two decades. As of the end of August, border agents had encountered more than 1.5 million migrants this fiscal year, more than the 977,509 encountered during the entire 2019 fiscal year, the last time the agency saw such high numbers.
The Border Patrol’s Rio Grande Valley Sector in South Texas has been the busiest sector along the U.s.-mexican border, tallying up 493,993 encounters, followed by the Del Rio Sector, also in Texas, with 214,993, according to statistics released by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which oversees the Border Patrol.
The migrants have been drawn to the border to escape the aftermath of natural disasters and corruption and violence in their home countries, as well as by the perception that President Joe Biden will be more welcoming to migrants than his predecessor, Donald Trump.
The Biden administration has struggled this year to stem the flow of undocumented border crossers while attempting to roll back Trump-era policies considered harsh by advocates, such as Title 42, which expels mostly adult men to Mexico without due process to prevent the spread of COVID-19, and the “Remain in Mexico” policy, which places migrants in northern Mexico border towns to await their immigration hearing.
Abbott reaffirmed his commitment to Operation Lone Star on Sunday.
“Because the Biden administration is refusing to do its duty, to enforce the laws of the United States,” he told Fox News, “they’ve left Texas with no position other than to step up and do what we have to do.”
His critics say Operation Lone Star blatantly disregards the U.S. Constitution, which assigns immigration enforcement to the federal government.
Local agencies can still communicate with federal immigration agents and let them know they have a person suspected of crossing the border illegally, said Geoffrey Hoffman, director of the University of Houston Law Center. But state agents arresting and processing migrants who enter the U.S. without proper documentation violates the Constitution and the Immigration and Nationality Act, he said.
“There’s no gray area – it’s very clear,” Hoffman said. “What the governor’s doing here goes beyond what’s allowed under the law.”
Abbott’s office did not respond to a request for comment. The Texas Department of Public Safety, which oversees Operation Lone Star, did not respond to questions about the initiative.
Thomas Saenz, president and general counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, said he and his organization closely monitor the legal challenges to Operation Lone Star. Abbott’s policy not only leads to racial profiling and infringes on civil liberties but will dissuade Latino residents from reporting crimes, making communities less safe, especially in Texas, which is 40% Hispanic, he said.
“Whenever you ask untrained law enforcement officers to engage in immigration enforcement efforts, they are going to revert to racial profiling,” Saenz said. “That’s exactly what an initiative like this invites.”