OPERATION LONE STAR

Nearly three months after Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the deployment of the 1,000-foot line of buoys and mesh in the Rio Grande, an Austin federal judge ordered the state to remove the barrier and stop building further obstructions in the river. One day later a higher court sided with Texas.

The lawmakers’ remarks came after an investigation published Tuesday by Military Times and The Texas Tribune revealed how Texas Guardsmen at the state’s border with Mexico spied on migrants via WhatsApp and allegedly mishandled secret documents.

Four members of the unit working on Gov. Greg Abbott’s border mission have been punished after whistleblowers reported the surveillance operation violated long-standing rules against state-run spy operations.

All eyes are on Austin as a high-stakes hearing unfolds over the fate of the buoys placed in the Rio Grande by Gov. Greg Abbott. A decision could be made by Friday.

The lawsuit alleges that four migrants who were arrested under Operation Lone Star remained locked up as long as six weeks after their criminal trespassing cases were dismissed or they served their sentences.

Congressman Joaquin Castro and members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and Texas Democratic delegation will visit Eagle Pass on Tuesday.

Escalating their fight over Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’ handling of immigration at the southern border, far-right representatives say they will oppose any appropriations for his agency.

Operation Lone Star originally targeted single men suspected of crossing the border illegally in mass trespassing arrests, but some claimed that not arresting women violated equal protection laws.

Allegations of mistreatment of migrants, including small children, by DPS troopers and Texas National Guard soldiers is “horrific” and “barbaric,” U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro of San Antonio said.

The Office of the Inspector General is investigating the claims, which include pushing small children and women with nursing babies back into the river and turning away a 4-year-old girl who later passed out on the riverbank from the heat.

A big-rig truck driver hauling a dozen immigrants en route to San Antonio led DPS troopers on a high-speed chase in La Salle County.

The mistake meant about 7,400 soldiers sent to the Texas-Mexico border under Operation Lone Star were hit with higher-than-expected federal income taxes.

Isabel Franco, 22, was taken into custody by Kinney County Sheriff’s deputies and special agents with the Texas Department of Public Safety.

While the state guarantees law enforcement officers, like Department of Public Safety troopers, a $500,000 death benefit for their families if they die on duty, National Guard troops who stand shoulder to shoulder with those DPS officers on Operation Lone Star don’t have the same benefit.

Law enforcement officers who serve on Operation Lone Star get a $500,000 death benefit for their survivors if they die on duty. But National Guard troops on the same mission don’t get a dime from the state for their families if they die.

It’s the first-known incident where a soldier has shot a migrant since the mission began. The injury is non-life threatening.

State police often rely on federal immigration officials to lock up migrants on state trespassing charges, according to a new complaint by the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas. The collaboration contradicts federal and Texas officials’ attacks on each other’s immigration policies.

The latest infusion was among $874.6 million in “emergency” budget transfers requested by the Texas Legislative Budget Board, which is composed of GOP state leaders and budget writers.

The number of migrant encounters at the Texas-Mexico border has climbed from 109,456 in March 2021, the month the mission began, to 116,976 in August — a failure of Abbott’s office’s stated desire to “stop this revolving door and deter others considering entering illegally.”

Operation Lone Star has helped fund the miles of concertina wire and militarization along the U.S. border. But how are funds invested in communities more than 80 miles north of the border? Reporter Alicia Barrera and photojournalist Sal Salazar visit Brooks County for a closer look.

Two civil rights groups have expanded their request for a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into Operation Lone Star, citing evidence of risky pursuits and more frequent traffic stops of Hispanic drivers.

The Department of Justice is investigating alleged civil rights violations under Operation Lone Star, a multibillion-dollar border initiative announced last year by Gov. Greg Abbott, according to state records obtained by ProPublica and The Texas Tribune.

Dilley police are dealing with a massive increase in the number of chases and human smuggling incidents over the past few months and say they would be overwhelmed without the help of Operation Lone Star.

Texas has been using coronavirus relief money to help pay for the multibillion-dollar deployment.

Abbott said the money would be taken from the budgets of other Texas agencies, including nearly $210 million from the state’s Health and Human Services Commission over two years and about $160 million from the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Spc. Bishop Evans died after jumping into the Rio Grande to save migrants. He and other members of Operation Lone Star were not provided safety equipment. Texas Military Department said an order for buoys and ropes was made but has not been fulfilled.

Spc. Bishop E. Evans, a 22-year-old field artilleryman from Arlington, joined the Texas Army National Guard in 2019.

A GOP Congressional Delegation will tour the border and meet with residents in Eagle Pass on Monday. A small business owner says his voice has not been included in the conversation.

The soldier, Bishop E. Evans, went missing Friday morning after he jumped into the river near Eagle Pass. On Sunday, the Texas Military Department reported the search was still ongoing.

The brigadier general steps down from commanding Operation Lone Star’s military efforts after five months.

Texas Military Department leaders say they’ve addressed many of the issues that arose late last year when the mission ramped up to 10,000 service members — but more money is needed to run the mission at its current pace.

The governor has ordered thousands of state troopers and National Guard members to the border since last year. Here’s what you need to know about the initiative.

Arrests of U.S. citizens hundreds of miles from the border. Claiming drug busts from across the state. Changing statistics. The data that Texas leaders use to boast about Operation Lone Star raise more questions than answers.

Gov. Greg Abbott’s controversial border mission was subject to a slew of bad news this week, including a major shakeup at the Texas Military Department, whose top leader Abbott replaced.

The dispatching of troops to the sprawling private ranches, far from the border, raises questions about the use of National Guard troops, who have widely decried the mission as aimless, political and oversized, as the cost of the effort has already ballooned to $2 billion a year.

Frustration, anxiety and anger prevailed in the survey responses obtained by the The Texas Tribune and Military Times. The survey includes responses from nearly 250 members of Task Force South, one of six units that fall under the umbrella of Operation Lone Star.

The soldier was injured in Bracketville and airlifted to a hospital in San Antonio where they were pronounced dead.

In this week’s episode, Matthew speaks with Mitchell and James about how Texas held up during the wintry weather, plus the struggles of the National Guard during their border deployment.

The governor has sent waves of troops to the border as Guard officials scramble to execute a massive mobilization that would normally take months to plan. Some Guard members say the operation has set back their income, education and well-being.

The call for action from Texas Democrats comes as another service member based in the city of Pharr survived a suicide attempt on Sunday, according to an incident report obtained by Army Times and The Texas Tribune.

Abbott said the suicides are being investigated and thinks it will come out that not all “actually occurred during Operation Lone Star.”

Recent reports from the Army Times into poor conditions and an uptick in suicides among Texas National Guard soldiers tied to Operation Lone Star has state lawmakers concerned over how the soldiers are being treated.

Abbott’s political challenger said guard members deployed to Operation Lone Star are facing late pay, being exposed to COVID-19, experiencing supply shortages and dealing with added stress that has led to multiple suicides tied to the mission.

Proponents of House Bill 9 denounced the Biden administration’s approach to border security, saying the state had no choice but to step in to ramp up enforcement.

The bill would nearly triple border security funding from the last biennium. The legislation needs one more vote of approval from the House before moving to the Senate.

The mayor of Uvalde said the presence of Texas DPS troopers is helping local law enforcement deal with other pressing issues in the city and county.

Texas is beginning to arrest migrants on trespassing charges along the U.S.-Mexico border.

The prison — Dolph Briscoe Unit in Dilley — will have capacity for about 1,000 people.

The Dolph Briscoe Unit in Dilley will be used as a central holding facility for immigrants who cross the border without permission and are charged with state crimes.

Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday held a press conference in the Rio Grande Valley where he provided an update on Texas’ response to the surge of migrants at the southern border through Operation Lone Star.

Greg Abbott announced Wednesday the expansion of Operation Lone Star to include efforts to crack down on human trafficking related to illegal border crossings. “Americans deserve to know what the Biden Administration is doing to investigate the surge of unaccompanied minors crossing the border and to protect those who are victims of human trafficking. That is why we are expanding Operation Lone Star to include anti-human trafficking efforts, such as interviewing unaccompanied minors to learn if they are victims of human trafficking. This will help us gain information to keep these children safe, root out human trafficking or other criminal activity, and prevent more children from being trafficked and abused. The new anti-human trafficking efforts will be supported by the Governor’s Child Sex Trafficking Team and other organizations and agencies that work to combat human trafficking in Texas.

Greg Abbott criticized the Biden Administration’s approach to border security at a press conference at Anzalduas Park in Mission on March 9, 2021. (Credit: Jason Garza for The Texas Tribune)Saying the Biden administration’s border policies make it clear that the president doesn’t care about Americans, Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday declared that the border is in a crisis and accused the president of aiding cartels and human smugglers. AdOn Tuesday, Abbott said Biden’s policies were instead aiding criminal elements who prey on migrants in Mexico by giving them more potential victims. “The Biden administration is helping the cartels make more money and grow more power,” he said.