Editorial: Operation Lone Star goes from bad to worse

Gov. Greg Abbott’s Operation Lone Star border enforcement plan was a bad idea from the start, and the longer his cruel folly drags on, the worse it gets for Texas taxpayers, border communities and the migrants who arrive at our doorstep, some seeking asylum, some in search of work and better lives.

Two-and-a-half years after Abbott launched Operation Lone Star, Texas has appropriated nearly $10 billion in tax money and deployed thousands of state troopers and National Guard members in its legally questionable effort to deter unauthorized migrants.

It clearly isn't working. An investigation by the Wall Street Journal in July found illegal border crossings have risen fastest in the South Texas counties targeted by Operation Lone Star. Migrants who encounter razor wire and other obstacles erected by the Department of Public Safety simply move to open spots along the Rio Grande. Last year, The Texas Tribune found that DPS was counting arrests as part of Operation Lone Star that occurred hundreds of miles from the border. Abbott, DPS and the Texas Military Department have fought requests by news organizations for records to back up their claims the border operation is working.

Buoys, family separation accusations add to border program's woes

Yet, the governor keeps doubling down. Abbott's decision in June to install oversized buoys in the Rio Grande at Eagle Pass to deter would-be border crossers has been a disaster, drawing the ire of the U.S. and Mexican governments. Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador called the tactic inhumane after Mexico recovered two bodies from the river, including one stuck in the massive floating devices. The U.S. Justice Department sued Texas in late July to force the buoys' removal, asserting state officials didn’t seek appropriate permits and that they violate federal waterways rules. Instead of doing the right thing and removing them, Abbott is dragging the conflict out in court, forcing Texans to spend even more on legal fees.

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus, including Democratic Rep. Greg Casar of Austin, wants the Justice Department to investigate disturbing new reports that DPS agents are separating migrant fathers from their families, coercing them to plead guilty to trespassing charges that they may not understand and denying them due process under U.S. asylum laws. The Justice Department should look into these claims, which are reminiscent of former President Donald Trump's family separation policy.

Instead of hitting pause on an initiative saddled with questions about its legality and morality, outlandish price tag, and effectiveness, Republican House Speaker Dade Phelan has suggested state lawmakers consider creating a highly controversial civilian border protection unit during a special legislative session this fall. A similar effort failed to pass the 88^th Texas Legislature this year.

“The governor will spend billions of dollars of Texans’ money if it fits his anti-immigrant narrative, no matter the result,” Jaime Puente, director of economic opportunity at Every Texan, a nonprofit that advocates for low-income Texans, told reporters last week. “Texans deserve effective state leadership, not Operation Lone Star's waste.”

At Abbott's urging, and without hard evidence that its border policing is working, Texas is foolishly spending billions that could pay for health care, public education, infrastructure and other needs. The federal government didn't ask the state to do it. Yet here comes U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Austin, who is leading a congressional effort to defund the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, including U.S. Customs and Border Protection, if the federal government doesn’t reimburse Texas for Operation Lone Star's multibillion price tag. All members of the Texas congressional delegation should reject this idea.

Transparent cost-benefit analysis sorely needed

When will the GOP’s border hysteria end in Texas? We agree that the border should be secured, but Operation Lone Star isn't getting the job done. Is there a Republican leader in Texas brave enough to call for a transparent cost-benefit analysis of Operation Lone Star? Sadly, it seems not. To be fair, Democrats at the state and federal level, including President Joe Biden, haven't put long-term, politically viable solutions on the table either.

The solution to our state's migrant crisis won't be found in throwing billions at border policing that isn't working, and which is the federal government's responsibility to begin with. It lies with Congress, not the governor or the state legislature. And it lies in addressing the root causes of unauthorized immigration and in at long last crafting an immigration reform policy that recognizes the value of migrants to our state and national economies and which allows more people to come here to live and work.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Editorial: Operation Lone Star goes from bad to worse