Report shows Texas leaders' repeated attempts to mislead the public about Operation Lone Star

[TexasTowelie]

A new report from three nonprofit news organizations documents how Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and other state officials repeatedly used "incomplete and sometimes misleading statements" to puff up the successes of the Abbott's immigration crackdown, dubbed Operation Lone Star.

In a lengthy story posted Wednesday morning, ProPublica, the Texas Tribune and the Marshall Project — which have done extensive joint reporting on Operation Lone Star — highlighted instances where state officials' efforts to trumpet the controversial program either lacked context or were false on their face.

Abbott has made the $3 billion Operation Lone Star a centerpiece of his reelection campaign, deploying more than 10,000 National Guard members, along with Texas Department of Public Safety personnel, to the border and arresting migrants for property crimes.

The Republican governor has repeatedly defended the widely criticized initiative by saying the Biden administration refuses to enforce immigration laws, a claim not backed up by data.

Read more: https://www.sacurrent.com/news/report-documents-texas-leaders-repeated-attempts-to-mislead-the-public-about-operation-lone-star-28755664

[tanyev]

1. Lies. They used lies.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

2. Reality Check: Seven Times Texas Leaders Misled the Public About Operation Lone Star

Greg is very worried and so Greg is using stunts and lying about these stunts to try to get re-elected.

Link to tweet

https://www.propublica.org/article/texas-greg-abbott-border-crisis-facts?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social#1319925

Earlier this month, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ratcheted up pressure on President Joe Biden’s administration by expanding the state’s sweeping border crackdown, announcing that he would bus immigrants to Washington, D.C., after they were apprehended for illegally crossing the border, as well as search commercial trucks entering Texas from Mexico.

During an April 6 press conference launching the additional efforts, Abbott did not explain that the busing is voluntary for immigrants. Texas cities and counties where migrants seeking to stay in the country are dropped off by the federal government must also request such a transport out of state before it occurs.

Then, about a week after his directive for vehicle safety inspections drew criticism for hampering border commerce, Abbott rescinded it, saying he’d reached agreements with four Mexican governors to strengthen security south of the border. The agreements mostly included measures already in place, but the governor claimed on social media last week that they demonstrated Texas had accomplished more to secure the border in two days than Biden had done during his time in office.

The measures are the latest examples of how Abbott and other state officials have used incomplete and sometimes misleading statements when promoting the purpose and effectiveness of Operation Lone Star. Abbott launched the initiative in March 2021, stating that it would help stop drug and migrant smuggling. In the past year, the governor has deployed more than 10,000 National Guard members, along with state Department of Public Safety troopers, to patrol the border, build barriers and arrest some migrant men on state criminal trespassing charges for crossing into the U.S. through private land.