AUSTIN, Texas – Between Eagle Pass, Texas, and Mexico, a buoy barrier floats in the Rio Grande, and wire fencing pierces the shoreline. Gov. Greg Abbott says both are meant to deter migrants from crossing the border between legal ports of entry.
Rep. Ellen Troxclair, R-Lakeway, recently traveled to Eagle Pass to see the buoys herself. She says troopers with the Texas Department of Public Safety guide migrants to one of the 29 legal ports of entry.
“The reality is Operation Lone Star is working. Migrants who need water or medical attention are getting it once they get to the U.S. border. And, it’s critical for the safety of all involved that migrants go to one of the 29 points of entry in order to enter the United States. That is the only safe and legal way to do it,” Rep. Troxclair said. “The buoys are extremely effective in making sure that they get that information before they cross the river.”
Operation Lone Star is Gov. Abbott’s multibillion-dollar border security initiative. Rep. Troxclair believes the program should continue to be expanded, echoing Republican criticism that the Biden administration isn’t doing enough to secure the border.
But as DPS prepared to install these buoys, one medic sent an email to a sergeant. He described situations where young migrants were getting caught in the wire. The medic also said troopers were given orders to push people back into the water to go to Mexico. DPS says there’s no such policy, and Gov. Abbott wrote on Twitter, “No orders have been given under this mission that would compromise the lives of those attempting to cross the border illegally.”
Rep. Troxclair believes the allegations are “absolutely, completely fabricated.”
“Once they get to that border, the DPS agents are doing everything they can to make sure that migrants are being directed to the legal points of entry [and get] medical attention if they need it,” she said. “In fact, I personally witnessed a man on the other side of the river tell a woman to cross the dangerous river with an infant. Once she got there, she said the baby needed medical attention and she was given it right away.”
She noted that there’s 1,000 feet of buoys so far.
“It's a few football fields,” Rep. Troxclair said. “These are used in places where there is not another safe way for them to cross the river. So this entire operation, Operation Lone Star, is about keeping people safe and not falling for the tricks that the cartels are playing on these poor families.”
Denise Gilman, the director of the Immigration Clinic at UT Austin's School of Law, says strict border measures don't deter migration.
"That's because most migrants arriving at the southern border of the United States are fleeing really dangerous in their home countries. That's what's first and foremost on their minds when they're making the decision to travel," Gilman said. "And then when they get here, it's so dangerous in northern Mexico that they're going to try to cross. And so all it really does to put up these dangerous, new border implements is to push people into more dangerous crossing areas."
Many Democrats are horrified by the allegations described in the medic’s email.
“Every human, regardless of what country they are from, deserve to be treated with dignity, as humans, as part of our society. It's extremely disturbing,” said Rep. Victoria Neave Criado, D-Dallas. “We are doing everything that we can to ensure that there are investigations conducted, so that we really drill down into what's going on at the border.”
Although there is an internal investigation into the claims made in the email, Rep. Neave Criado says an independent one is needed.
“We really call on the federal government as well to look at what's happening,” she said. “When we look at potential violations of international treaties, when we look at the fact that we may be overstepping the Constitution and due process rights. Like those are significant concerns that warrant federal intervention.”
Unlike her Republican colleagues, Rep. Neave Criado commended the medic who came forward and exposed alleged mistreatment.
“We are greatly appreciative of the trooper who raised his voice and essentially is a whistleblower, who is shining a light on what's really happening,” she said. “Folks can deny things all day long on paper or in the media, but when you have somebody willing to come forward... I think speaks volumes about what's really happening. And so it is our duty as legislators to ensure that the laws of Texas are protecting our fellow Texans, but as well respecting the international laws and the human dignity of folks who are coming to our nation for a better life.”
Rep. Neave Criado says comprehensive immigration reform is needed.
“We need our federal government and our state government to cooperate and to coordinate,” she said. “We need communication. We need folks to put party aside. We need folks to be willing to work together to address these issues so that more people are not dying, and that our laws are changed to reflect the true values of Texas and that is not pushing children back into a river or denying a human water in this extreme Texas heat.”
On Wednesday, Democrats in the Texas Senate called on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to investigate the claims. But again, Republicans in the upper chamber say the allegations in the email are not true. Sen. Donna Campbell, R-New Braunfels, wrote on Twitter, "Any illegal immigrant trying to crawl through a razored-barbed wire fence do so at their own risk."
The president of Mexico says he doesn’t believe DPS troopers would actually push migrants back into the water because that’d be “inhumane.” However, he does believe the buoys and wire are just for show to get votes.