Gov. Greg Abbott's Operation Lone Star border initiative has resulted in the separation of at least 26 migrant families since July 10, according to Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid immigration attorney Kristin Etter.
The majority of her two-dozen clients were Venezuelan asylum seekers who intended to turn themselves in to US immigration authorities in a park in Eagle Pass, according to CNN.
Texas Border Initiative Sparks Separation of 26 Migrant Families
Instead, they were transported by air boats or on land by Texas Department of Public Safety state troopers to areas where they were collected up and then separated.
Some of our clients have reported that DPS officers cut the (concertina) wire so they can get through, only to be arrested after they do so.
According to Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid immigration attorney Kristin Etter, Texas is segregating men from their families, in contrast to the Trump administration's 2018 zero tolerance policy, which separated children from their mothers and fathers.
Troopers have typically apprehended the father of a family unit for criminal trespass under state law, and the mother and her children have been turned over to US Border Patrol agents.
Etter stated that all of these arrests were false. The statute on criminal trespass was never intended to be used to detain individuals for immigration violations.
In recent months, Biden administration officials have grown increasingly concerned about Abbott's actions along the Texas-Mexico border, which have disrupted US Border Patrol operations in the region and endangered migrants.
The US Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the state of Texas last week over its use of floating barriers in the Rio Grande, which Texas Governor Greg Abbott claims are meant to deter migrants from entering the state from Mexico.
Tuesday, the Eagle Pass City Council voted unanimously to rescind an affidavit allowing DPS troopers to enforce criminal trespass laws in a city-owned park along the Rio Grande.
A video of the meeting was posted on the city's Facebook page. During the meeting's remark period, several residents complained that DPS had transformed the park into a "war zone" by installing concertina wire and shipping containers along the Rio Grande.
Her male clients are taken to state prisons that have been converted to jails and have limited or no means of communicating with their families who are housed in immigration detention centers.
As per Etter, this is a modification in the Texas Department of Public Safety's border policy. While the agency acknowledges that family separations occur, it has not responded to CNN's queries about the apparent shift in policy, as per KAGS.
US Border Patrol Agent Charged with Migrant Smuggling and Bribery
In a separate incident, a US Border Patrol agent is currently facing federal charges for allegedly transporting a migrant into the country and demanding a bribe.
Fernando Castillo of El Paso, Texas allegedly guaranteed a migrant a "immigration benefit" in exchange for $5,000, according to court documents. Castillo is suspected, according to a federal investigation, of proposing to transport the migrant to an entry point.
The migrant, a dual citizen of Mexico and El Salvador, was scheduled to return to Mexico. Castillo is then said to have placed the migrant in a vehicle alone, with no other Border Patrol agents present.
According to the records, the migrant claimed Castillo halted the van at some point and offered "papeles," which they mistook for immigration papers. Then, Castillo allegedly informed the migrant that their files would be purged within two weeks and they would be allowed to remain in the country.
As per the migrant, Castillo also unsealed a bag containing $830 and 3,725 Mexican pesos. Castillo was subsequently accused of stealing $500 from the migrant, which he denied.
However, he did confess to altering the migrant's file and forging the signatures of other agents.
Castillo reportedly departed the agency on July 13, per CBS News. He was released on surety of $30,000 and is scheduled to appear in court on August 17, Houston Chronicle reported.
