Texas Gov. Greg Abbott launched Operation Lone Star to ramp up security along the Texas-Mexico border in March 2021, citing insufficient policies from the federal government. He announced that the state would deploy resources from the Department of Public Safety and the National Guard. The Texas Legislature dedicated nearly $2 billion toward the effort. But the operation has been mired in controversy; National Guard troops have called it a disaster, and migrants arrested on state trespassing charges have gotten caught in confused legal proceedings, their lawyers citing due-process violations. Texas Tribune reporters are covering the border initiative and its effects on the people involved. Help us investigate Operation Lone Star by sharing your experiences living at the border or near it.
Defense attorneys have started asking courts to set migrants free because local justice systems, overwhelmed by arrests under Gov. Greg Abbott's border security push, are routinely violating state law and constitutional due process rights. Full Story
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Under Gov. Greg Abbott’s border security push, Texas state police have arrested hundreds of migrants in the conservative county, usually after spotting them on cargo trains or walking remote ranch lands. Sent to a state prison retooled as an immigration jail, many men were left without lawyers for weeks. Full Story
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Proponents of House Bill 9 denounced the Biden administration’s approach to border security, saying the state had no choice but to step in to ramp up enforcement. Full Story
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The bill would nearly triple border security funding from the last biennium. The legislation needs one more vote of approval from the House before moving to the Senate. Full Story
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After more than three weeks in jail, a trespassing charge against the man was dropped because state troopers shouldn’t have arrested him under Gov. Greg Abbott’s border security push. He wound up in bureaucratic limbo for days as federal agencies passed the responsibility for resolving his immigration status. Full Story
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The governor's decision to go all in on border security is evolving rapidly, and many of those on the ground don't know how it's going to work. Full Story
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Border-crossing immigrants are being arrested by Texas troopers on state charges like trespassing, and they’re starting to trickle into a prison emptied to house them. Full Story
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The prison — Dolph Briscoe Unit in Dilley — will have capacity for about 1,000 people. Full Story
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The governor's announcement Thursday that Texas would build its own border wall was Abbott's boldest move yet in an intensifying focus on the region. Full Story
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Abbott said the increase in fentanyl seizures correlates with President Joe Biden taking office in January and implementing new border policies. Full Story
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Apprehensions of migrants have increased substantially at the U.S.-Mexico border since October. Full Story
Abbott said it is the federal government’s responsibility to test the migrants. Full Story
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