Texas state soldiers arrest thousands of migrants crossing the border. Critics call it unconstitutional.

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Friends from Guerrero, Mexico, Ivan Nava and David Muoz entered the United States together in June without permission. They hoped to connect with relatives, find a job, and plan a better life for their family in Mexico.

Instead, they sat in a Texas jail for seven weeks, unaware of the charges against them or what to expect.

They are two of the thousands of migrants who entered Texas from Mexico this year without proper papers and were arrested as part of Operation Lone Star, an initiative by Governor Greg Abbotts to use state soldiers and soldiers. of the National Guard to help strengthen the enforcement of federal immigration laws.

A Texas District Court judge on Tuesday dismissed criminal trespassing charges against Nava and Muoz after prosecutors were not prepared to present probable cause in the case. Defenders hailed it as a major victory against Operation Lone Star, which they claim unconstitutional and flout federal laws. Proponents of the policy claim Abbotts’ right to prevent undocumented migrants from entering Texas if the federal government fails in this task.

The two men remain in detention and it is not known what will happen when they are released. State officials could turn them over to federal immigration officials, who could detain or deport them. Or they could be released to the United States to await an immigration hearing.

On Tuesday, the same judge who presided over the Nava-Muoz case ordered the release of 243 migrants arrested in Operation Lone Star against no-cost bail after prosecutors agreed to the releases. Many of the men had been jailed without charge for more than two weeks, according to Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, which represented the migrants.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has authorized state soldiers to help the US Border Patrol enforce federal immigration laws. More than 4,600 people believed to have entered the United States without proper documentation have been arrested this year as part of Operation Lone Star.

The Nava-Muoz case and other legal challenges could have far-reaching consequences if higher courts take the case or if other states emulate Texas policy, said Alicia Torres of Grassroots Leadership, a group of Austin-based immigrant advocate.

If we as a nation don’t stand up to Texas and say enough is enough, we’ll see policies like Operation Lone Star appear across the country, she said.

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Abbott launched Operation Lone Star in March, deploying hundreds of Texas Department of Public Safety state soldiers, officers, rangers and National Guard soldiers to support border patrol, arrest migrants who infiltrate and fight the smugglers. By the end of August, more than 4,600 people had been arrested in connection with the initiative on charges of criminal mischief and trespassing, according to a press release from Abbott’s office.

The effort was launched as the number of migrants encountered by the border patrol, particularly on the southwest border, has climbed to a number not seen in two decades. By the end of August, border officials had encountered more than 1.5 million migrants during this fiscal year, more than the 977,509 encountered in the entire fiscal year 2019, the last time around. that the agency has seen such a high number.

The Rio Grande Valley border patrol sector in South Texas was the busiest of all other sectors along the US-Mexico border, totaling 493,993 encounters, followed by the Del Rio sector, also in Texas, with 214,993 , according to statistics released by the United States. Customs and Border Protection, which oversees border patrol.

Migrants have been drawn to the border to escape the consequences of natural disasters, corruption and violence in their home countries, as well as 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 workers while trying to roll back Trump-era policies seen as harsh by advocates, such as Title 42, which mainly deport adult males to Mexico without due process to prevent the spread of COVID. -19, and the Stay in Mexico policy, which places migrants in border towns in northern Mexico awaiting their immigration hearing.

Abbott reaffirmed its commitment to Operation Lone Star on Sunday.

Because the Biden administration refuses to do its duty, to apply the laws of the United States, he told Fox News, they left Texas with no other position but to step up and do what we must do.

Critics say Operation Lone Star blatantly disregards the U.S. Constitution, which attributes immigration law enforcement to the federal government, and recalls attempts by states to become more involved in federal immigration , such as the Arizonas SB 1070. This 2010 law required state law enforcement officers. to determine the immigration status of a suspect during routine stops. Critics said this led to racial profiling and other civil rights violations.

The United States Supreme Court overturned most of the law in a 5-3 decision in 2012.

Local agencies can always contact federal immigration officials and let them know they have someone suspected of having crossed the border illegally, said Geoffrey Hoffman, director of the University of Houston Law Center. But state agents who arrest and process migrants entering the United States without proper documentation violate the Constitution and immigration and nationality law, he said.

There’s no gray area, it’s very clear, Hoffman said. What the governors are doing here goes beyond what is permitted by law.

Abbotts’ office did not respond to a request for comment. The Texas Department of Public Safety, which oversees Operation Lone Star, did not respond to a list of detailed questions about the initiative.

A Texas State Soldier and US Border Patrol agent detain undocumented immigrants near McAllen, Texas.

Thomas Saenz, president and general counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, said he and his organization were closely monitoring legal challenges to Operation Lone Star. Abbotts’ policy not only leads to racial profiling and undermines civil liberties, but will deter Latino residents from reporting crimes, making communities less safe, especially in Texas, which is 40% Hispanic, he said. he declares.

Anytime you ask untrained law enforcement officers to engage in immigration law enforcement efforts, they will revert to racial profiling, Saenz said. This is exactly what an initiative like this invites.

State soldiers arrested Nava, 29, and Muoz, 41, on July 25 as the couple stood on a public road in Kinney County, near the US-Mexico border, according to a petition filed in court by their lawyers. They were presented with a pre-filled document in English, which they did not understand, essentially saying that they had been informed of their rights and that they would waive their right to a lawyer, according to the petition.

The pair spent a night in Val Verde County Jail and then were transferred to the Dolph Briscoe Unit, a state prison that was emptied this year to make way for the dozens of migrants arrested in connection with Operation Lone Star. They were charged with trespassing on September 8, 45 days after their arrest.

Civil rights lawyers only discovered them after Muoz’s sister, who lives in California, received a phone call from her brother in prison and began frantically contacting advocacy groups, said Torres, the Austin-based lawyer.

It was very difficult, she said. These are two men who were arrested and spent more than 50 days in prison with minimal access to any outside information or understanding of their case.

Lawyers applauded the dismissal of the case on Tuesday, but fear Nava and Muoz will be turned over to federal immigration officials and may be deported. They called on the Biden administration to allow them to stay in the United States while their immigration case is heard.

“Operation Lone Star is based on racial profiling and systematically violates due process,” Kevin Herrera, the migrants’ lawyer, said in a statement. “We demand … that [Department of Homeland Security] cease all collaboration with this unconstitutional program. ”

Others support Abbott’s decision to deploy state assets to the border to help stem the flow of migrants and drugs.

Jessica Vaughn, director of political studies at the Washington-based Center for Immigration Studies, which promotes tighter immigration controls, said state soldiers primarily pick up undocumented migrants trying to sneak past border patrol officers, not those who surrender to them. seek asylum.

She said she would closely monitor legal challenges to the policy.

It’s going to be interesting to see how that goes, Vaughn said. We could end up with a court plan on what exactly states can do to tackle illegal immigration.

Follow Jervis on Twitter: @MrRJervis.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Texas Border Workers Arrested in State Initiative for Border Enforcement

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