Democratic Lawmakers Attack Texas For Enforcing Laws
A group of congressional Democrats is complaining about Texas’ Operation Lone Star (OLS) border enforcement initiative, claiming that the state has established “a separate immigration policy.” The lawmakers’ beef ought to be with the Biden administration’s nonfeasance, and the anemic participation of local prosecutors.
Calling for a federal investigation, the 26 congressional members allege that OLS arrests of illegal aliens on state and local charges are “militariz[ing] Texas border communities.”
But the facts don’t jibe with the rhetoric. Under OLS, just over 1,000 migrants have been jailed at two state facilities for offenses ranging from criminal trespassing to resisting arrest. This is a drop in the bucket, given that hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens have moved into this country on President Joe Biden’s watch.
Texas, which has borne the brunt of the migrant surge into America, has mobilized state troopers and sheriff’s departments to stand in the gap. And, so far, four border counties have stepped up to prosecute lawbreaking migrants.
Yet many more jurisdictions have been sitting on their hands. Hidalgo County, the most populous on the Rio Grande, hasn’t sent a single criminal alien to the state detention center located there. Neither has upriver Maverick County, where thousands of migrants have entered in recent weeks.
All large South Texas counties are led by Democrats, most of whom want nothing to do with Operation Lone Star. Though the program provides state funding for police overtime and prosecutorial support, these local officials aren’t interested.
“It’s all politics,” TexasDepartment of Public Safety (DPS) Lt. Christopher Olivarez told FAIR in an interview this week.
Government officials, up to and including President Biden, take an oath to uphold the law. But with their tortured logic, the letter-writing representatives in Washington make a mockery of that pledge and expose their duplicity. Are they worried that some jurisdictions might restrict Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)operations, or refuse to cooperate altogether? Are they concerned that states may decide to give illegal aliens driver’s licenses or in-state tuition, or even let them vote in school board elections? Wink, wink.
Such rogue policies have been implemented from coast to coast, of course, and the Democratic lawmakers never utter an objection to any of it. No, they only get agitated when a state actually tries to enforce the rule of law.