Human Rights Watch: Migrant Pursuits Are Deadly

Human Rights Watch released a 76-page report whose findings state that Operation Lone Star’s migrant pursuits close to the border are dangerous and deadly.

According to media reports indicating the pursuits involved vehicles containing migrants, as well as DPS records obtained by Human Rights Watch under state public records laws, in the 29 months between the start of OLS in March 2021 and July 2023, at least 74 people were killed and another 189 injured as the result of 49 pursuits by Texas troopers or local law enforcement, or both, in Operation Lone Star counties. That is a rate of nearly 3 deaths and 7 injuries per month that OLS has been in existence, a significantly higher toll than the nearly 2 deaths per month previously reported by media and civil rights groups, and higher than the toll in other Texas counties over the same period. Of the 5,230 total vehicle pursuits that DPS troopers engaged in across Texas’ 254 counties since March 2021, 3,558 of them, or roughly 68 percent of all pursuits, occurred in the 60 Operation Lone Star counties that represent 13 percent of the state’s population. This means Operation Lone Star county residents are experiencing a disproportionate share of vehicle pursuits across the state.

Operation Lone Star is a very expensive farce purporting to protect Texans. In fact…

The Operation Lone Star apparatus functions as a shadow system of racialized border control, rife with human rights violations documented by Human Rights Watch in previous publications: it separates families; it improperly imposes penalties on refugees for crossing the border without authorization; impedes and in many cases effectively denies the right to seek asylum; and forces mostly defendants of color to languish in deplorable jail conditions, often in custody due to unaffordable bond amounts, while waiting for charges to be filed, attorneys to be appointed, and court hearings to be scheduled. As asylum seekers and migrants are prosecuted under Operation Lone Star, it may subject them to new criminal convictions that could deprive them of the ability to gain asylum under US law. It also creates a chaotic and militarized environment in which law enforcement agencies have a very visible presence in Texas counties, with trucks and uniformed and armed personnel alongside roadways and in cities and towns. These agencies engage in vehicle chases and other risky maneuvers on a daily basis that foment fear in Texans, threatening rather than ensuring public safety.  

According to Human Rights Watch, OLS also encourages overzealous police practices.

From state and local police records reviewed by Human Rights Watch, a picture emerges of overzealous and reckless law enforcement carried out by various law enforcement agencies whose agents rely on racial profiling and pretextual stops (in this case using a traffic violation stop to investigate another offense), engage in vehicle chases, and fail to terminate pursuits despite high speeds, bad road conditions, traffic, and proximity to residential and other populated areas.

HRW made some recommendations, including ceasing certain Operation Lone Star policies, including vehicle pursuits. HRW also makes a long list of recommendations to the Texas Lege, Congress, and the Biden Administration.

Lofty? Considering Republicans are in charge of the demise of Texas, yes. Also, considering that Republicans take every opportunity to racialize the issue and their policies. For Democrats who are trying to get re-elected, of course it’s lofty. Democrats would rather debate their bigoted friends on the other side of the aisle than tell it like it is to energize the electorate.

More than anything, this report serves as a fact sheet for those of us who continue to fight for justice. It outlines the lack of cooperation from Texas elected officials, especially local law enforcement agencies who are enriching themselves with overtime pay and new equipment. And it outlines the practices put in place by Greg Abbott. It’s a good strategy book on which Democrats can fight back. That’s if they want to fight.

As a South Texan, these practices and chases have been part of most of my life. They’ve only been given steroids by Greg Abbott’s policies. I’m glad a national organization has created this report because I’ve been writing about it for a long time. $10 Billion later, Operation Lone Star is only effective in riling up a bigoted base that blames everyone else for the problems they have created. Simply put…

A first step should be ending vehicle chases; a second should be ending Operation Lone Star and investing taxpayer dollars instead in tackling specific and genuine public safety threats, and improving the schools, roads, infrastructure, and communities of Texas.