According to media reports, Texas could implement a plan to bus migrants directly to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in order to process them for deportation.
A source told the New York Post that the action would be a change from the state’s policy, which is part of Operation Lone Star and has bussed thousands of migrants to sanctuary towns. Gov. Greg Abbott has yet to give his approval.
“We are always going to be involved in border security so long as we’re a border state,” a Texas government source told the newspaper. “We spent a lot of taxpayer money to have the level of deterrent that we have on the border, and we can’t just walk away.”
Abbott has been particularly forceful in preventing illegal immigration, busing migrants to blue cities in an attempt to draw attention to the border situation. According to the Post, buses hired by Texas will transport migrants from border cities to federal detention centers, allowing ICE officials to process them more rapidly.
Texas has been in a court battle with the Biden administration over its efforts to reduce illegal immigration. On Wednesday, an appeals court declared that the state has the authority to construct a razor wire border wall to discourage immigration.
“My office has identified several of our properties and is standing by ready to make this happen on Day One of the Trump presidency,” Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham said during a visit to the border Tuesday.
Officials have also given land to the incoming Trump administration for the construction of deportation camps for illegal immigrants who have committed crimes.
Authorities have also issued a warning about the apprehending of unaccompanied migrant children along the border. A 10-year-old child from El Salvador told state troopers in Maverick County, Texas, on Thursday that a human smuggler had misplaced and abandoned him.
According to Lt. Chris Olivarez of the Texas Department of Public Safety, the youngster was carrying a cellphone and weeping. The boy stated that his parents were in the United States.
On Sunday, troopers came upon an unaccompanied 2-year-old child from El Salvador holding a piece of paper with her phone number and name. She informed officials that her parents were also in the U.S.
That morning, Texas troopers discovered 211 illegal immigrants in Maverick County. The group included 60 unaccompanied youngsters aged 2 to 17, as well as six special interest immigrants from Mali and Angola.
“Regardless of political views, it is unacceptable for any child to be exposed to dangerous criminal trafficking networks,” Olivarez wrote at the time. “With a record number of unaccompanied children and hundreds of thousands missing, there is no one ensuring the safety & security of these children except for the men & women who are on the frontlines daily.”
He noted that the “reality is that many children are exploited & trafficked, never to be heard from again.”
