Federal Government Moves to Dismiss Border Lawsuit

Maverick County Officially on board with Operation Lone Star

Some movement in Federal Court, related to a border county lawsuit against the Biden White House, trying to restore certain policies— the plaintiffs including Kinney County, say the policy changes directly contribute to the Border Crisis.

The lawsuit is happening at the Federal Courthouse in Galveston. It alleges that the Biden White House requires federal agents to violate certain specific terms of federal immigration law, contributing to the current crisis. The plaintiffs argue, that the changes force Border Patrol to release potentially dangerous criminal aliens into the interior of the United States. The plaintiffs say they just want Federal Agents to be able to go back to being able to enforce the laws as they’re written.

The White House, Wednesday, filed a motion to dismiss the suit basically arguing that the plaintiffs have not proven any sort of injury.

The new guidelines were enacted February 18th, changing how federal agents arrest, detain, and deport illegal aliens. In sworn affidavits, filed alongside the lawsuit,   ICE officers also say that they were forced by the changes to release known criminals into the U.S., including multiple deported child rapists and criminals convicted of sexual battery against a child, among others.

Kinney County Attorney Brent Smith is one of the attorneys working on behalf of the plaintiffs, though the case is led by Kansas Attorney General candidate Kris Kobach, who is widely regarded as a Trump ally, endorsed by U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and others.

Smith says the motion to dismiss is not unexpected, and he feels it is unlikely to be granted.

This comes as various civil rights groups push for the Department of Justice to put a halt to Operation Lone Star, the name given to TX Governor Greg Abbott’s efforts to police the border, in the face of a perceived failure at the federal level.

The Washington Post’s Arelis Hernandez has the story, though other coverage of it can also be found elsewhere.

Advocates for immigrants and civil rights groups are asking the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s border enforcement operation, alleging the program is discriminatory and fuels anti-immigrant hatred.

The coalition, including the American Civil Liberties Union in Texas, filed a federal discrimination complaint against Operation Lone Star, documenting what they allege are civil rights violations against mostly Black and non-White migrants suspected of crossing the border illegally and targeted by state authorities for arrest and prosecution.

The nearly $2 billion Operation Lone Star program was billed by state lawmakers as Texas’ answer to Biden administration border policies they deem ineffective at curbing illegal immigration. U.S. Border Patrol encountered more than 1.7 million migrants from across and beyond the hemisphere — many of whom were seeking asylum — at the U.S.-Mexico border this year. Abbott (R) has argued that the numbers compromise state security.

….

The coalition argues that Texas is usurping the federal government’s immigration enforcement responsibility by creating its own unilateral system that weaponizes state law to “punish migrants for coming to the United States,” according to the complaint. They also allege that local officials have used xenophobic language and openly tried to collaborate with militia groups or contract with private security to help detain immigrants.

“Virtually all if not all of those arrested to date are Latinx and Black men and are migrants. And the nature of the program — state-sanctioned targeting of immigrants — has further fueled racist, anti-immigrant rhetoric and action …” the complaint said.

This facet of Operation Lone Star has been plagued by missteps in prosecutions that have led to case dismissals and court orders for the large-scale release of migrants from state custody after hundreds were held for weeks without charges or access to an attorney. Several border counties refused to participate, saying it would overwhelm their criminal justice systems and unnecessarily tax their prosecutorial resources.

One jurisdiction that participates in the program is Kinney County, a rural South Texas ranching community along the Rio Grande. Sheriff Brad Coe, a retired Border Patrol agent, and his six deputies work with troopers to funnel migrants through a special judicial system created specifically for them. The vast majority of the more than 2,200 trespassing arrests made under the program this year were in Kinney.

The program has been applauded by hard line conservatives in the state and supported by ranchers who have lived with migrants crossing their lands or watching smugglers evade authorities in high-speed chases on their roads.

“The community is behind this 110 percent because they are tired of their property being damaged, tired of fences being cut and tired of pursuits,” Coe said.

It is difficult not to cut and paste the whole thing— Reporter Arelis Hernandez does a very good job of diving into and summarizing what’s been a very busy and active week, and even manages to touch on certain militia groups that have been in the county and how Sheriff Coe might have utilized them if events had moved in that direction.

Truthfully, the militia situation has been difficult to sort out. The most visible group has been “Patriots for America,” associated with a man named Samuel Hall. But, it seems there have been others active in the county, including a group following the naming convention of the “Proud Boys” political protest group— calling themselves the “Patriot Boys,” it was this group that saw a member arrested by the FBI in Kinney County earlier this week— accused of taking part in the January 6th incident at the U.S. Capitol.

It all seems a little silly and perhaps ridiculous, until one remembers there’s nothing silly about thousands, perhaps millions of people traveling the length of a hemisphere to cross the U.S. Mexico Border. There’s nothing silly about people getting locked up at the Dolph Briscoe Unit. There’s nothing silly about folks feeling like they have to carry firearms around their property, just in case they stumble onto a desperate, violent immigrant. Is that rare? Of course it is. Only has to happen to you once, though, doesn’t it? And of course, there’s nothing silly about the possibility of private citizens, acting in place of law enforcement, potentially getting into shootouts with cartel traffickers.

It seems like most folks in Kinney County would agree— these concerns are why a taxpayer is supposed to be able to count on federal agencies like Border Patrol to pick up the slack. This is why we give them badges and guns. This is why nations have borders.

When that system seems to be breaking down, then what? Perhaps you end up with the sort of mess we’re seeing right now.

One last quote block from Ms. Hernandez and the Washington Post:

With Title VI, the DOJ will review the complaint to decide if the investigation advocates seek, is merited.

“I think what terrifies me the most is that they are using this incredibly well-resourced, existing bloated system, our criminal system, and targeting it at perceived political enemies,” said Amanda Woog, executive director of the Texas Fair Defense Project. “They are creating a road-map for just about any state to do it.”

One may be reading Ms. Woog’s quote incorrectly— but she seems to be addressing the idea that overreach by a given Government tends to result in other, future administrations picking up the same ball and running with it in all kinds of unexpected and possibly horrible directions. This is a well-documented phenomenon. Happens all the time. And it is alarming.

It would probably be best for everyone, if the Federal Government would get back to enforcing sound border policy, removing the need for local governments and the State of Texas to try and stand in the gap.

This all comes as the Washington Examiner, and reporter Anna Giaratelli reports that Eagle Pass and Maverick County are ready to get on board with Operation Lone Star.

A Texas border sheriff who had resisted working with the state to refer illegal immigrants on state trespassing charges said rising crime in his community has forced him to take action and partner with Austin.

Despite neighboring counties signing agreements to work with the state earlier this year, Maverick County Sheriff Tom Schmerber had held out on partnering with the governor’s office to refer noncitizens on state charges.

“The state’s been after me for a few months,” said Schmerber. "I hesitated for about two months. What kind of pushed me to really was because there were more things that were happening. I didn't see migrants coming in and just moving on. I saw immigrants get into houses, breaking in, damaging, taking things. I started getting calls from ranchers about all the damage they were doing — calls from neighborhoods close to the city about breaking in, taking things.”

In one recent incident, he said, a Honduran man broke into the home of a 73-year-old woman and sexually assaulted her. Schmerber was unable to provide recent crime statistics.

This is all very familiar. One could replace Sheriff Tom Schmerber’s name with his Kinney County counterpart’s and the various other appropriate details, and not hardly miss a beat.

Maverick County is receiving about 1.6 million in Operation Lone Star funding. Sheriff Schmerber says he’ll be spending it mostly on new employees and equipment.

That should do it for this morning. As always opinions expressed here and any errors are entirely our own, and do not represent any statements of policy or belief on the part of Kinney County. Have a great day, and we’ll see you again soon.