TEXAS, USA — Gov. Greg Abbott and several state agencies are facing a new class-action lawsuit over “Operation Lonestar.”
The state military operation was Abbott’s response to the border crisis which he says forced his hand. Abbott and other state leaders have accused the White House of dereliction of duty and cites a growing number of undocumented border crossings.
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At the heart of the lawsuit is the constitutional rights of the detainees. The litigation says virtually everyone who has been arrested under the military operation have been Black and Latino migrant men.
Other lawsuits have targeted Operation Lonestar under a different premise. Those legal challenges have argued that immigration policy rests with the federal government, specifically Congress, and prohibits states from interfering with enforcement policies.
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice was named as one of the agencies in the lawsuit. A spokesperson refused to comment on the record on the legal challenge citing the pending litigation.
A spokesperson for the Texas Department of Public Safety also said that department does not discuss pending litigation.
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