A pregnant teenager experiencing excruciating pain as she endured a miscarriage while entangled in the barbed wire that stretches along the southern border of Texas. A 4-year-old girl collapsing from heat exhaustion after being pushed away from the wire by Texas National Guard members as she attempted to cross with her family. Texas state troopers receiving orders to withhold water from migrants in scorching triple-digit temperatures. On another occasion, officers instructed troopers to forcibly push a group of migrants, including children and infants, back into the Rio Grande River, where they were huddled alongside a fence. These disturbing incidents were witnessed by a medic in the Texas Department of Public Safety during recent patrols, as detailed in an explosive email published by the Houston Chronicle and the San Antonio Express-News.
The email, written by the medic named Nicholas Wingate, expressed concern over the inhumane treatment of migrants along the border. It not only highlights the harsh tactics employed by Texas Governor Greg Abbott and other state law enforcement officials against undocumented migrants, but also underscores the aggressive measures taken by Republican-controlled states to assert control over immigration policy in defiance of President Joe Biden’s administration. Many experts on immigration view these actions by Texas and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who signed strict laws targeting undocumented migrants, as a challenge to the limits of state authority in matters of federal immigration law.
According to David Leopold, a former president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, U.S. immigration law governs the border, not state law. While the asylum process established by federal law may not be universally liked, it does not condone the mistreatment of migrants, especially vulnerable children and infants. Leopold emphasizes that such actions do not align with American values or laws.
Abbott has defended his state’s enforcement efforts by arguing that Biden’s immigration policies have exposed Texas residents to dangerous migrants and drug smuggling, as well as endangering the migrants themselves by encouraging them to make the perilous journey to the southern border. However, the disturbing incidents witnessed by Wingate raise questions about the excessive and potentially illegal measures being taken by Texas and other Republican-led states.
The increasing hostility towards undocumented immigrants displayed by Republican leaders reflects two significant trends within the party during the Trump era. One is the broader movement in red states to roll back civil rights and liberties, including voting rights, abortion access, and LGBTQ protections. The other trend is the competition among Republican leaders to adopt ever more aggressive policies against undocumented immigrants, surpassing even the hard-line approach taken by Trump during his presidency. Both DeSantis and Trump have expressed intentions to eliminate birthright citizenship if elected, while Trump has also suggested reviving the highly criticized policy of family separation at the border. These leaders continue to escalate their rhetoric and propose extreme measures, illustrating their determination to crack down on undocumented immigration.
DeSantis and Abbott have been at the forefront of the efforts by red states to assert greater control over immigration policy. DeSantis signed legislation containing stringent measures to combat undocumented migration, including criminal penalties for individuals providing transportation to such migrants in Florida. Abbott, on the other hand, is constructing an enforcement apparatus separate from federal agencies responsible for border management. This represents a tangible manifestation of the red-state drive to establish a self-governing entity with its own rules and values.
While Abbott has not claimed the right for states to set their own immigration policies based on an “invasion” theory, conservative activists have advanced this fringe legal argument. DeSantis has embraced it, arguing that states should have deportation authority. However, most immigration-law experts doubt that the current conservative majority in the Supreme Court would support this interpretation. Abbott’s enforcement effort, known as Operation Lone Star, focuses on deterring and apprehending undocumented migrants within the state’s borders rather than deporting them. The program has faced criticism from immigration hard-liners who believe Abbott should exercise deportation authority. Nonetheless, the revelations from Wingate’s emails demonstrate how Texas has already encroached upon federal authority by implementing physical obstacles and using force against migrants.
Aside from the human toll, the red-state border-enforcement efforts raise legal concerns. Democratic Representative Veronica Escobar and her colleagues have requested an investigation by the Justice Department and the State Department into whether Abbott’s buoys violate U.S. and international law, in particular the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Escobar argues that legal action should be taken to halt Abbott’s enforcement program, and federal personnel should be deployed to remove the physical barriers constructed by Texas.
The White House has condemned the actions described in Wingate’s email, and the Justice Department is reportedly examining whether Operation Lone Star violates federal civil rights laws. Further actions are expected to be announced by the administration.
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