EAGLE PASS, Texas — Texas Department of Public Safety troopers are accused of separating migrant families at the border.

That’s according to a report from the Houston Chronicle. The newspaper heard the allegations from migrants and their attorneys. They say fathers have been detained and separated from family members, including small children, in recent weeks. It’s alleged that this has happened to at least two dozen families.

What You Need To Know

  • A report from the Houston Chronicle details accusations by migrants and their attorneys that Texas DPS troopers in recent weeks have separated dozens of migrant families

  • The troopers are specifically accused of separating fathers from their families. DPS denies there is any such policy 

  • Family separation was a matter of policy under former President Donald Trump's "zero-tolerance" program 

  • In July, it was alleged that DPS troopers were ordered to push migrants back into the Rio Grande river and deny them water 

CNN on Wednesday spoke with immigration attorney Kristin Etter who said her clients are Venezuelan asylum seekers who were trying to turn themselves in to U.S. immigration authorities at a public park in Eagle Pass, Texas.

However, Etter said, they were rounded up by DPS and separated. DPS denies there is any family separation policy.

Family separation was policy under former President Donald Trump’s “zero-tolerance” program, however. The Biden administration in June 2021 reported it had identified more than 3,900 children separated from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border.

These latest accusations, however, are limited to the separation of fathers from their families.

These are just the latest accusations of mistreatment of migrants. In July, an email from a DPS trooper-medic to a supervisor stated that DPS troopers were ordered to push migrants back into the Rio Grande in Eagle Pass and deny them water. It also claimed migrants are being injured by razor wire placed along the river. Texas leadership denied any such orders were given.

Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, was critical following the Houston Chronicle’s report.

“As if the death traps @GovAbbott installed at the Rio Grande weren’t enough, he’s now separating families at the border,” the congressman tweeted. “I’m going to Eagle Pass next week w/ other legislators to talk with folks about how this barbaric operation is hurting people & interfering with @CBP’s work.”

Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, released a statement on the report in which she compared the accusations to the Trump-era policy.

“I am horrified by the news that Greg Abbott is separating children from their fathers at our southern border. In a throwback to the cruel family separation policies of former President Donald Trump, Governor Abbott is once again using inhumanity and cruelty as public policy,” Escobar wrote.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.