by Domenico Maceri * –
SAN LUIS OBISPO (USA). “I will do anything to defend our state from encroaching Mexican drug cartels…and I will protect our sovereignty.” Thus thundered Texas Governor Greg Abbott as he tried to justify his most recent initiatives which may be illegal but undoubtedly inhumane.
Painting all migrants with qualities that would apply to only a tiny fraction of a group is the strategy of Abbott, Republicans, and the broad right to demonize all migrants. So nothing new. But there is even worse. For almost two years Abbott has launched Operation Lone Star to control the entry of migrants into his state. The latest expedient was to install floating barriers using orange buoys anchored to the bottom of the Rio Grande, the river that separates the USA from Mexico. These barriers also include barbed wire which makes entry even more difficult and dangerous. There have already been casualties. The barrier has been described as a “death trap” by Texas Democratic Congressman Joaquin Castro. The barrier also pushes desperate people trying to cross the border to try from places where the water is deeper, increasing the risks.
Beyond the dangers and her obvious cruelty, even the orders given to Texas state agents to prevent entrances reveal the wickedness to us. In a series of emails analyzed by the Guardian, a British newspaper, one of these agents explains how the orders of superiors reflect inhumanity. Officer Nicholas Wingate informs that some migrants have been injured by barbed wire. A 4-year-old girl, according to Wingate, passed out due to excessive heat in June as she attempted to pass barbed wire. Another pregnant woman got trapped and was eventually transported to the hospital where she tragically lost her baby. In another case, according to Wingate, more than a hundred people, including exhausted and starving children, were pushed back into Mexican territory. However, some agents, after expressing concern about the climate of inhumanity, disobeyed the orders of their superiors and behaved with humanity towards these desperate people. Texas authorities have said they will reconsider the orders given to their agents after conducting an internal investigation.
Beyond inhumanity, the barriers Abbott installed are apparently illegal because they clash with federal laws that prevail in international matters. That’s why a group of Democratic lawmakers has sent a letter to President Joe Biden to take action. In fact, the president did so by ordering the governor of Texas to remove the barrier because it interferes with the federal management of immigration. However, Abbott did not give in challenging Biden to see him in court. The law, however, is on the federal side. There have been clashes between the states and the federal government over immigration issues in the past, but the Supreme Court has rightly taken the side of the Washington government. Biden noted that the barriers violate an 1899 law which gives Congress control over the “navigability of waterways” and any obstruction must be approved by Washington. Abbott did not apply to Congress but acted independently, accusing the Biden administration of failing to control borders. Furthermore, there is also an international violation since the obstruction is 80 percent located in Mexican waters, thus violating the sovereignty of another country.
Despite everything Abbott has no intention of giving in also because his policy on migrants is supported by Texans. A poll from last month tells us that 59 percent of Lone Star State citizens favor using state law enforcement to control the border. These figures have dropped somewhat with the use of buoys and barbed wire as well as reports of the tragic treatment of migrants. Nationally, however, 58 percent of Americans do not approve of Biden’s immigration policy. The republican rhetoric of the invasion from the southern border continues to prevail. However, the facts tell us that the numbers of admissions have dropped considerably. In June, for example, fewer than 100,000 migrants were detained at the Mexican border, a low figure not seen since 2021.
Would the drop in admissions be due to Abbott’s hard hand or Biden’s politics? The figures would prove Biden right. The drop in entries is partly due to the blockades of migrants by the Mexican government which makes it difficult for Central Americans to undertake the very long journey to arrive in the United States. Also noteworthy is the fact that Biden has set up a way to apply for asylum from Mexico using CBP One, an app that allows you to get a date with a judge in the US to determine whether asylum will be granted. Furthermore, the number of legal entrances has been increased by Biden reaching almost 500,000 units in the last two years.
Immigration has always been a hot topic throughout American history with a conflict between those who want more immigration and others who oppose the newcomers. Republican rhetoric of late has demonized migrants as Abbott does, ignoring the positives and contributions of newcomers. Kamala Harris said it very well in a recent speech to UniDos, a rights group for Latinos. The US vice president attacked Abbott for his language of “extremism” characterizing Texas’s actions as “inhumane, scandalous and un-American”. Hard to blame her.
* Domenico Maceri, PhD, is professor emeritus at Allan Hancock College, Santa Maria, California. Some of his articles have won awards from the National Association of Hispanic Publications.
