Some experts say the actions create little change in immigration enforcement. Others say they invite a legal battle.
Operation Lone Star
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.
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Operation Lone Star
Calling busing of migrants from Texas a “humanitarian crisis,” Washington mayor asks for help from National Guard
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey are sending migrants to the nation’s capital to prove a point about President Joe Biden’s immigration policies.
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Operation Lone Star
Texas troopers are causing car chase fatalities and racially profiling drivers under Abbott’s border crackdown, complaint claims
Two civil rights groups have expanded their request for a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into Operation Lone Star, citing evidence of risky pursuits and more frequent traffic stops of Hispanic drivers.
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Operation Lone Star
Gov. Greg Abbott empowers state authorities to return migrants to border crossings
Immigration law enforcement is a federal responsibility. Abbott appears to be testing the limits of state authority by empowering state law enforcement to bring migrants to the ports of entry — stopping short of using state resources to expel migrants from the country.
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Operation Lone Star
Gov. Greg Abbott spends an additional $30 million on Operation Lone Star to aid local governments
Abbott announced that his already $4 billion border mission would provide grant funding for cities and counties, following a press conference by some local officials calling on the governor to take more drastic action to secure the border.
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Operation Lone Star
Treasury Department opens investigation into Gov. Greg Abbott’s use of federal funds for border mission
Texas has been using coronavirus relief money to help pay for the multibillion-dollar deployment.
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Operation Lone Star
A minor trespassing case gives Gov. Greg Abbott’s border initiative its first courtroom win
The trial included four prosecutors, and so many potential jurors were summoned the town sandwich shop was shorthanded for lunch. But a Kinney County jury Monday convicted a Honduran national in the first jury trial for trespassing under Gov. Greg Abbott’s Operation Lone Star.
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Operation Lone Star
How federal pandemic aid helped Texas pay for Greg Abbott’s border mission
State officials freed up cash for Operation Lone Star with the help of federal funds meant to respond to the coronavirus crisis.
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Operation Lone Star
Texas National Guard guidance discouraging soldiers from saving drowning migrants draws scrutiny
Critics have said that a lack of guidance and equipment to perform life-saving rescues leaves soldiers dangerously unprepared to deal with a common scenario on the border while dehumanizing the migrants attempting to cross the river.
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Operation Lone Star
Gov. Greg Abbott redirects $500 million from other agencies to fund border security mission through end of fiscal year
Abbott said the money would be taken from the budgets of other Texas agencies, including nearly $210 million from the state’s Health and Human Services Commission over two years and about $160 million from the Texas Department of Public Safety.