Texas immigration policy and that of the Biden Administration are clashing head-on in the Lone Star State. While the agents deployed by Governor Greg Abbott are applying a "detain and repel" policy as opposed to the "detain and release" policy of the federal executive. This situation is causing immigrants to try to avoid state officials while seeking encounters with federal officials.
Texas maintains its border defense by repelling & redirecting those who unlawfully cross the dangerous Rio Grande back to Mexico to a port of entry. The #MarineBarrier will enhance security efforts. Crossing the Rio Grande is not safe & places illegal immigrants in danger &… https://t.co/zGihgyciOF pic.twitter.com/HzUJG0Diq8
— Chris Olivarez (@LtChrisOlivarez) July 14, 2023
Operation 'Hold the Line' in Rio Grande
With his operation Hold the Line, Abbott is seeking to prevent the crossing of immigrants across the Rio Grande. The governor has spared no resources to make this area impregnable to illegals, with the installation of the controversial buoys and the deployment of a large contingent of state police, National Guard and Coast Guard members. He has even reworked the river bank to shield the places where undocumented migrants used to regroup after crossing the stream.
A 44-acre island was also removed by draining the portion from the Texas border to the island and filling it with soil. Once added to the shore, the vegetation that provided shelter to the immigrants was removed and the perimeter was surrounded by barbed wire as a deterrent. Other smaller islands near the U.S. side have also been prepared by state operators to facilitate their work.
Federal agents, main stumbling block for Texans
However, the money and effort invested by the state administration has encountered a serious stumbling block: federal agents. As reported by journalist Todd Bensman in the The New York Post, the uniformed forces deployed by Washington continue with the policy of "detain and release" in U.S. territory. The immigrants have already realized this, and openly confess that they are looking for the men "in the green uniform" while trying their best to avoid those in "tan uniforms."
— Todd Bensman (@BensmanTodd) July 17, 2023
Washington officials offer illegal aliens appointments to be released on bail in the U.S.
This is the case of a young Venezuelan who explained that encounters with state agents end up with them returning to their place of origin or looking for places to find federal agents. "They [Texas' DPS agents] won't let us through. There [American Immigration] the Border Patrol will take us so that we can we can try to get asylum because we are poor and we want a better life." According to the immigrants themselves, if they manage to provoke an encounter with the "greens," the latter will give them a notice to appear in which they can voluntarily present themselves at an ICE office (whichever one the illegals choose) to be later released on bail.
.@TxDPS continues to deter & repel unlawful crossings between the ports of entry by patrolling the river, fortifying gaps along the river w/ concertina wire, conex boxes, boots on the ground, & now w/ the first-ever marine barrier. #OperationLoneStar pic.twitter.com/bFQNP7Ih2F
— Chris Olivarez (@LtChrisOlivarez) July 12, 2023
"It's not their fault, they're acting under orders"
State agents believe that this behavior by their once staunch allies is due to orders from Washington seeking to scuttle Abbott's efforts, which they perceive as a challenge. So says Chris Olivarez, a lieutenant with the Texas DPS:
The immigrants keep walking and walking until there’s an opening and eventually they’ll find something and get across with Border Patrol. It’s not their fault; they’re acting under orders. It just makes it more challenging to us, where we’re trying to stop it and they’re [Border Patrol] not helping."
Family reunification, the other trump card for immigrants
Immigrants are also taking advantage of another Achilles' heel of the Texan measures: children. Many parents try to smuggle children under the barricades because, if they make it to U.S. soil, they are entitled to family reunification, so the rest of the family members will be smuggled in. Likewise, if a family group manages to cross the fence, state agents are obligated to turn them over to the Border Patrol.
