EAGLE PASS, Texas — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott this week joined President-elect Donald Trump incoming “border czar” Tom Homan at a state military base in Eagle Pass to outline the state’s readiness for Trump’s mass deportation agenda, according to the Washington Post.
The event spotlighted Texas’s Operation Lone Star, a $11 billion initiative, and its alignment with federal efforts to crack down on immigration, a move that civil rights advocates say escalates systemic discrimination and violates constitutional protections, reported the Washington Post.
Homan praised Operation Lone Star as a model for the incoming administration’s nationwide deportation strategy, stating, said the Post, “This is a model we can take across the country,” praising the initiative plan to deploy thousands of Texas National Guard troops and law enforcement officers along the border, erect barriers such as razor wire and buoys, and detain migrants in state prisons.
Abbott’s focus on expanding detention centers and increasing deportations has drawn sharp criticism from Cody Wofsy, deputy director of the ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project, who told the Washington Post Operation Lone Star is “a civil rights disaster,” accusing Texas of creating “a workaround to implement its own border system.”
Texas’s approach has included building 51 miles of border wall without federal assistance and launching initiatives such as the Jocelyn Initiative, which offers state land for additional detention facilities. Critics argue to the Post these measures foster a climate of fear and exacerbate human rights violations.
In Eagle Pass, where state forces established their operational base, residents have seen significant disruptions, the Washington Post wrote, quoting local activist Amerika Garcia Grewal, who criticized the loss of public spaces like the city’s riverfront park, stating, “The cruelty is the point, and they are monetizing our pain.”
Meanwhile, the Post story added, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has sued to block federal immigration policies and targeted immigrant advocacy groups, seeking to strip their nonprofit status. Advocacy groups have condemned these moves as attacks on free speech and due process.
Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, noted Texas’s unique role in Trump’s immigration agenda because of its Republican leadership and proximity to Mexico, stating, “Texas is primed to be the epicenter of mass deportations.”
Abbott, the Post writes, has requested an additional $2.88 billion for border enforcement ahead of the next legislative session, signaling an intention to deepen the state’s involvement in federal immigration efforts.
Civil rights organizations, including the ACLU, are preparing to challenge these policies in court, arguing they violate constitutional protections and perpetuate systemic inequality.
