More: As landowners resist, Texas’ border wall is fragmented and built in remote areas
The governor did not provide any evidence of these “rape trees” and deaths. The governor also did not mention if Texas authorities are investigating these rape allegations.
The Maverick County sheriff’s office didn’t immediately respond to El Paso Times’ request for comment.
Immigrant rights advocates argue that the very efforts of the state to stop migrants through transnational border security programs do little to deter them from arriving but rather push them into more dangerous situations.
“Actions like Lone Star do nothing to address the crisis of violence and sexual abuse by unscrupulous actors against those who migrate,” Dylan Corbett, the director of the El Paso-based Hope Border Institute, said. “On the contrary, the state’s illegal closure of the border to asylum seekers is directly funneling them into the hands of criminals who prey on them.”
These “rape tree” allegations were refuted by border authorities, according to a 2022 story by Border Report.
“I don’t know where they’re getting that information. What area? It’s not in Maverick (County) that I know of and I haven’t heard it from the other sheriffs close to my area,” Maverick County Sheriff Tom Schmerber told Border Report.
Abbott plans to work “hand-in-hand” with President-elect Donald Trump, saying that Trump with bring an end to alleged “horrors” along the border.
The Governor’s new effort comes as he seeks nearly $3 billion more in Texas’ next legislative session for border security for his Operation Lone Star. The project has cost taxpayers $11 billion since its launch in March 2021.
Operation Lone Star further militarized the southern border with Mexico through the deployment of Texas National Guard soldiers and state troops. The operation also unrolled thousands of miles of razor wire and expanded the border wall across the U.S.-Mexico border.
While the state’s efforts have drawn the public’s attention, they have done little to address the causes of migration.
“Gov. Abbott’s Operation Lone Star is really an exercise in political theatrics,” Corbett said, “It does noting to address migration.”
Jeff Abbott covers the border for The El Paso Times and can be reached at: [email protected]; @palabrasdeabajo on twitter or @palabrasdeabajo.bsky.social on Bluesky
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Publish date : 2024-12-19 05:09:00
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