The Houston Chronicle reported that the Texas Department of Public Safety, under Governor Greg Abbott’s Operation Lone Star, has been pushing migrants back into the Rio Grande river, denying them water, and injuring them with razor wire barriers. One woman suffered a miscarriage inside one of Abbott’s traps.
In an email to his supervisor, a DPS whistleblower wrote: "I believe we … have stepped over a line into the in humane [sic]. We need to operate [Operation Lone Star] correctly in the eyes of God. We need to recognize that these are people who are made in the image of God and need to be treated as such."
“This is barbaric,” said Cathryn Paul, Public Policy Director at national immigrant powerhouse CASA. “Governor Abbott would rather see migrants die than come to the United States to seek a better life. Forcing people back into a river, denying them drinking water in scorching 100-degree heat, setting traps for humans with razor wire—that is where Abbott has taken his state and our country. The governor’s denials ring hollow when the proof is there for the world to see. Depraved is the word that comes to mind. Migrants and advocates repeatedly warned lawmakers that policies like Operation Lone Star and Florida’s SB 1718 are extreme, inhumane measures that will have extreme and dangerous consequences. We are ashamed to live in a country that allows this to take place. We must recognize the inherent humanity of all people and create safe ways for people to migrate. Helping them drown, or setting traps to tangle them in razor wire is unconscionable beyond words.”
Of course, Operation Lone Star is not the only intentional government act that puts migrants’ lives at risk. Federal policies have caused the deaths of tens of thousands of people. Thousands of people have died attempting to come to the United States through the desert, as border policies push migrants into the most remote parts. Hundreds are dying at sea and in long journeys over land to get here. Others have died while under the “care” and custody of U.S. agencies like Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection, including children.
The Southern Border Communities Coalition keeps a running list of deaths caused by the U.S. Border Patrol. The manners of death include deadly use of force, vehicle crashes during high-speed chases, medical neglect, and homicide.
“These are all preventable deaths,” added Ama Frimpong-Houser, CASA’s Legal Director. “It’s painful but true: policies by border state governors and the U.S. government are intentionally causing people to die. We believe every person has the right to seek refuge and live a dignified life. The state of U.S. immigration policy today, which puts up all kinds of deadly barriers instead of actually facilitating migration, is shameful and deadly.”