Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin by institutions receiving federal funding. According to Texas Department of Public Safety officials, Operation Lone Star may have violated this law. According to the report, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice “also cited a ‘formal investigation'” into Operation Lone Star by the DOJ.
According to The Texas Tribune, corrupt Attorney General Ken Paxton, who enjoys interjecting himself into decisions that have nothing to do with him, had nothing to say.
According to Amanda Hernandez, a spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, the organization “has and continues to follow all state and federal laws as the state of Texas responds to the ongoing crises at the border.” Well, that’s just outright false. Since last year, reports have shown that Texas has unlawfully detained immigrants without presenting any charges, in violation of state law. Given that these unlawful detentions have continued into this year, this has not been an error.
A complaint filed by a group of civil rights organizations late last year alleged that Abbott’s scheme violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and it is encouraging to see that the Justice Department is reportedly investigating this claim.
According to the organizations’ complaint, “arrest records demonstrate profiling based on race and national origin, including with numerous descriptions of observing or receiving reports of ‘undocumented migrants’.” “Most, if not all, of those detained to date are migrants and men of color from Latin America.” The groups echoed the concerns of human rights advocates and cited “evidence of racial profiling and biased policing” as well as racist statements made by right-wing elected officials that put a state that has already been the target of deadly white supremacist violence even more in danger.
According to groups, Kinney County, which has fully backed Abbott, has repeatedly sought to “partner with vigilante actors.” Additionally, Kinney County recently bragged about “sending undocumented people back to Mexico,” which is unquestionably not the responsibility of a sheriff. The sheriff responded by asserting that deputies had merely “transported four back to the port of entry in Mexico so they could return home,” despite criticism from legal experts who warned that “deputies could be subject to enormous legal liability for doing that.” No formal deportation took place, according to KSAT. Sure.
Immigration lawyer Lance Curtright commented on the report, “That sounds to me like he drove them to the port of entry, dropped them off, and said, “That’s where you got to go,” with “that” being Mexico.
“That sounds to me like he made them flee the country against their will.”
Rep. Veronica Escobar applauded the Texas Tribune’s report. She was one of the lawmakers who had successfully urged the Treasury Department watchdog to look into whether Abbott had misused federal funds as part of his scheme.
According to Escobar, Governor Greg Abbott’s “Operation Lone Star” has been a complete failure.
“Billions of dollars have been wasted, and our troops’ level of readiness has decreased. Our military personnel have been used as a political pawn by Governor Abbott; both they and the people of Texas deserve better. I have firsthand knowledge of the appalling conditions experienced by service members assigned to Operation Lone Star.
Greg Abbott’s border scheme is still against state law and is funded by taxpayers.
Coalition calls for DOJ investigation into Texas scheme that “fuels the flames of racist, anti-immigrant sentiment”
Texas continues to keep its expensive border theatrics’ results a secret because they weren’t effective.
