STATE CAMPAIGNS

Fighting the Anti-Immigrant & White Supremacist Agenda

The U.S.–Mexico border has been historically impacted by federal policies and strategies that have intensified the criminalization of immigrant families and border residents and have increased the militarization of the border region and its communities. However, in the last decade, and especially during Trump’s administration, Texas’ state government, led by Governor Greg Abbott, has implemented an extremist, xenophobic, white supremacist strategy towards immigrants, refugees, and border residents.

Beyond the rhetoric of the Texas governor, which has painted immigrants and refugees as criminals and declared a State of Emergency at the Border, the Texas/Mexico border has experienced the presence of thousands of Texas State Troopers (DPS) and Texas National Guard members enforcing federal immigration laws by questioning, detaining, and arresting both border residents and immigrants in transit. As a matter of fact, thousands of immigrants had been arrested and jailed, accused of criminal trespassing, based both under state law and Abbot’s executive orders. Gov. Abbott’s anti-immigrant strategy at the Texas border is known as Operation Lone Star.

The consequences of such aggression to border residents, refugees, and immigrant families can be seen in such communities’ multiple human and civil rights violations. The lack of coordinated response, proactive advocacy efforts, and insufficient community organizing efforts (which represents an essential challenge for the BNHR) has created a situation where Texas law enforcement agencies are acting with impunity, and Governor Abbott is using immigrants and refugees as scapegoats in his political ambitions.