November 17, 2022
Cited article by Human Rights Watch
HRRC joins Human Rights Watch in calling for the Biden administration to cease federal funding of Operation Lone Star in Texas. Reports indicate that increased militarization and deterrence methods have targeted minorities and proven seriously harmful, even to the point of death. The increased militarization on the border will result in further rights violations and severe damage.
Article Summary
Human Rights Watch recommends that the United States must end the Texas government's Operation Lone Star. Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced on November 15, 2022, that he intends to use both the U.S. and Texas constitutions to increase border militarization. Operation Lone Star utilizes federal funding, and the operation has been on notice since December 2021 to target people on race and national origins, disregarding due process and subjecting the people to various abuses while detained.
Under Abbott's new expansion, 10,000 Texas National Guard soldiers and Texas Department of Public Safety officers would be deployed at the border. Abbott also stated that he would utilize gunboats, construct more border walls, and enter into agreements with foreign powers. Past methods of border crossing prevention through forceful deterrence have not stopped or slowed migration, and instead have actually profited illicit actors who are smuggling people across the border.