The state has opened a second booking facility for people who are arrested during Operation Lone Star. The operation was launched last March to apprehend people for border-related crimes.
Through January, Texas DPS says more than 10,100 people had been arrested. Of those, 2,434 were arrested for criminal trespassing.
The first booking facility opened last year in Del Rio, near the Val Verde County Sheriff's Office. The second will be about 200 miles away in Jim Hogg County, east of Laredo.
"Securing the border includes arresting and prosecuting anyone committing border-related crimes in Texas. The launch of our second Operation Lone Star jail booking facility builds upon the unprecedented actions taken by Texas to respond to the Biden Administration's open border policies. The State of Texas' work to secure the border is made stronger by our collaboration with local governments and law enforcement across the state, and I am grateful to our partners in Jim Hogg County for working with our state agencies to launch this new facility," Governor Greg Abbott wrote in a statement.
January 13, a judge in Austin ruled Operation Lone Star unconstitutional. The ruling said immigration laws could only be enforced by the federal government, not the state.
After the ruling, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton vowed to appeal, tweeting, "Biden has FAILED to secure the border. Texas stepped in. We have the right to defend our border if the feds refuse."
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