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ACLU to DHS: Stop Colluding with Abbott, Operation Lone Star

December 03, 2022 (1 min read)

Dec. 2, 2022 letter from ACLU Texas to Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Troy Miller, Acting Commissioner, Customs and Border Protection Peter Mina, Acting Officer, DHS Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Matthew Klein, Assistant Commissioner, CBP Office of Professional Responsibility:

"Border Patrol agents in south Texas have been colluding with Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) officers in Texas’ program targeting migrants for arrest on state misdemeanor trespass charges. One in four trespass arrests under Texas’ anti-immigrant “Operation Lone Star” (OLS) program in August 2022 involved Border Patrol collusion with DPS. Alarmingly, in 35 instances, Border Patrol was plainly the initial apprehending agency and, instead of processing individuals for immigration purposes, transferred them to DPS for prosecution for trespass in the state’s OLS system. ... Border Patrol collusion is likely responsible for hundreds of arrests in Texas’ unlawful, discriminatory, and anti-immigrant trespass arrest system. DHS should cease all collusion with state and local officials in OLS trespass arrests, and transparently and publicly state a policy of non-collusion in Texas’ OLS trespass arrest system."

[News by JOLIE MCCULLOUGH, Texas Tribune, here.]