Texas Governor Greg Abbott has taken a stronger stand toward the border over the past 2 years, sending tens of thousands of National Guard members and law enforcement officials to monitor the Rio Grande and pushing beyond the boundaries of what is acceptable for the state to do in terms of immigration.
However, based on conversations with state officials and records seen by The New York Times, Texas law enforcement officials recently went much deeper with these strategies, launching what the state has referred to as a “hold-the-line” operation.
The inquiry discovered that they had strengthened the riverbanks with more concertina wire, refused water to a few migrants, yelled at some to go back to Mexico, and, in some instances, purposefully did not notify federal Border Patrol officials who may have helped incoming groups come ashore and file asylum claims.
Individuals within the U.S. Border Patrol and the Texas Department of Public Safety, the organization in charge of mainly executing the governor’s border policy, feel concerned by the more violent, go-it-alone approach.