State authorities are planning to expand Gov. Greg Abbott’s ‘catch and jail’...
Members of the Texas Guard are stationed along the Rio Grande outside of Del Rio, Texas as part of Operation Lone Star on Nov. 18, 2021. Federal agents are not partnering with Texas state police in making trespassing arrests. State authorities are now arresting migrants on misdemeanor trespass charges near the Rio Grande Valley and are planning to expand Gov. Greg Abbott’s ‘’ initiative into counties that are not on the border, the state’s chief law enforcement official said Tuesday.
The trespass arrests, underway since last July, have remained almost entirely confined to Val Verde County, home to the border city of Del Rio, and neighboring Kinney County, a sparsely populated community that has served as the epicenter of the arrests. But in recent weeks, state authorities have started locking up migrants in Jim Hogg County, a rural area that hugs the border counties of Starr and Zapata.
On Tuesday, a total of 57 migrants arrested in Jim Hogg County were being held at the two state-run lockups outfitted to house Operation Lone Star detainees, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. But even with DPS’ expansion into South Texas, Kinney County remained the chief source of trespass arrests, accounting for roughly 85 percent of the 870 migrants currently jailed.
The distinction is notable because Abbott’s migrant arrest plan can only function in counties where it is supported by the elected county attorney, who represents the state in misdemeanor cases.