HOUSTON — Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order today purporting to empower state authorities to detain migrants and return them to border crossings. This comes on the heels of Wednesday’s revelation that the Department of Justice is already investigating Gov. Abbott’s Operation Lone Star program for civil rights violations.
Kate Huddleston, staff attorney at the ACLU of Texas, had the following reaction:
“Gov. Abbott’s executive order is vicious and unlawful. It will encourage the police and the National Guard to racially profile Black and Brown people in Texas and it could force migrants fleeing violence back into harm’s way. Justifying this effort by invoking the rhetoric of ‘invasion,’ which the governor knows fueled the 2019 El Paso shooting that killed 23 people, recklessly fans the flames of hate in our state. The governor is once again playing politics rather than addressing the real needs of Texans. The Biden administration should act swiftly to condemn this unlawful order and ensure that federal agencies play no role in it.”
