Ten immigrant and civil rights groups have filed a complaint with the United States Department of Justice arguing that Gov. Gregg Abbott’s Operation Lone Star – a new state-run border arrest program – is unlawful and discriminatory.
Under Operation Lone Star, Texas law enforcement officials arrest, jail and prosecute suspected border crossers on state criminal trespassing charges. U.S. border enforcement is typically handled by the federal agencies, like Customs and Border Protection.
The complaint calls on the Department of Justice to investigate the border enforcement program on the grounds that it violates Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on race or nationality in any program that receives federal funding.
“The true intent of this program is to punish migrants, expand Texas’ massive correctional system and deter future migration,” said Liz Castillo, organizer with the Detention Watch Network.
Some 2,200 people have been arrested on misdemeanor state criminal trespass charges under the program, according to the legal complaint, signed by attorneys from the ACLU of Texas, Texas Civil Rights Project and Texas Fair Defense Project.
“State and local officials who have initiated and implemented the program are motivated by animus, motivated by racism and xenophobia, and they are seeking to punish Black and brown migrants for coming to the United States,” said Kate Huddleston, ACLU of Texas attorney.
The complaint notes that migrants are sent to a separate criminal system from that for non-migrants, with designated state jails and processing centers, dockets and public defenders.
“People are then sent to this separate criminal system that is rife with civil rights violations and abuses. And they languish in that system for extremely long periods of time, weeks or months, on misdemeanor criminal trespass charges,” said Huddleston.
The complaint also argues that the trespassing arrests lack probable cause and therefore violate the 4th Amendment. And, in some cases tracked by civil rights groups, migrants said they were encouraged by law enforcement agents to cross onto private property,
The complaint includes the account of one Venezuelan migrant who was jailed for 63 days on trespass charges that were eventually dismissed.
In the complaint, the Venezuelan man, who remained anonymous, described the circumstances of his arrest.
“Officials signaled to us to come toward them. So, obeying their hand signals, we walked through the gate to talk to them. I told them I was seeking asylum, and they said to me in English, ‘Sit down here.’” After a law enforcement official arrived, ‘he told us that we had committed the crime of trespass to private property and that we would be taken to jail as prisoners.’”
Abbott’s office was unable to provide comment on the legal complaint prior to publication.
Abbott has made the border his top issue ahead of his re-election campaign and received $1.8 billion from the Legislature to continue arresting and incarcerating migrants and build a physical barrier along parts of the southern border with Mexico.
Last week, Abbott thanked Tennessee’s governor on his decision to send 50 members of the Tennessee Guard to aid in Operation Lone Star.
Galveston County, along with Val Verde and Kinney County, were also named in the legal complaint, as violating anti-discrimination law. Galveston County’s Sheriff’s Office and constables have contributed to migrant arrests in Kinney County while utilizing federal funds.
“They are treating us in a discriminatory manner,” said another anonymous asylum seeker in Spanish, who was arrested under Operation Lone Star, “They are treating immigrants like criminals, but we’re not.”
elizabeth.trovall@chron.com