Maverick County Has Filed 396 Operation Lone Star “Catch and Jail” Criminal Trespass Misdemeanor Cases Against Undocumented Immigrants
By: Ricardo E. Calderon and Alyssa Barrientos, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2022
Although Maverick County was late to the party joining Texas border counties filing of state misdemeanor criminal trespass charges against undocumented immigrants seeking asylum or refugee status within the United States under the controversial program titled Operation Lone Star initiated by Texas Governor Greg Abbott, Maverick County has filed a total of 396 misdemeanor criminal trespass cases against migrants in Maverick County Court since implementing the controversial legal program on March 25, 2022, according to public records from the Maverick County Clerk’s Office as of July 28, 2022.
As of July 28, 2022, a total of 189 of these 396 misdemeanor criminal trespass cases filed in Maverick County Court have been adjudicated while the remaining cases are pending adjudication, according to public records.
Governor Abbott implemented the controversial ”Catch and Jail” criminal trespass misdemeanor program in July 2021 in Val Verde (Del Rio) and Kinney (Brackettville) counties against undocumented immigrants seeking asylum or refugee status in the United States by filing criminal state charges for trespassing private property, usually ranches, or other criminal mischief charges as an extension of his Operation Lone Star program. Operation Lone Star provides public funding or assistance for private property owners to have their properties fenced to protect against undocumented immigrants and cause the filing of misdemeanor criminal trespass charges in the event they step onto their fenced property.
The Lone Star Operation “Catch and Jail” Program since its inception in July 2021 has been mired in controversy for allegedly violating undocumented immigrants legal right to apply for asylum or refugee status in the United States under current American immigration law, violating the the U. S. Constitution’s Supremacy Clause granting the federal government exclusive enforcement of immigration laws, denying migrants due process and speedy trial act rights, incarceration of migrants without the timely filing of formal criminal complaints, lack of court-appointed counsel, and for longer periods of detention than allowed by state law.
Governor Abbott requested and received over $2.2 Billion in Texas taxpayers funds from the state legislature to operate the controversial Operation Lone Star, which the “Catch and Jail” Program is one of the components.
In October 2021, over two dozen U.S. Congressmen requested the U. S. Department of Justice to investigate Governor Abbott’s controversial “Catch and Jail” program for violating constitutional and civil rights of undocumented immigrants as well as the federal government’s exclusive jurisdiction of immigration law enforcement. The U. S. Department of Justice is currently investigating the program.
In January 2022, Travis County District Court Judge Jan Soifer held that the Operation Lone Star “Catch and Jail” program against undocumented immigrants violated the constitutional rights of migrants and the Supremacy Clause granting the federal government exclusive jurisdiction of immigration law enforcement, setting a legal precedent for future cases. The State of Texas has appealed Judge Soifer’s decision, of course.
The Operation Lone Star “Catch and Jail” Program created its own state court and detention systems to operate the controversial program, including the building of temporary migrant processing centers, converting a part of the Dolph Briscoe state prison into a jail to house the migrants awaiting trial or serving post-trial sentences, hiring of state prosecutors, judges, court personnel, transportation services, technology, and officers to execute or enforce the program.
Maverick County Judge David R. Saucedo announced on August 31, 2021 that he had met with two Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) representatives from Governor Abbott’s Office in the Rio Grande Valley, Victor Escalon and Mr. De La Garza, to discuss Maverick County joining Operation Lone Star and agreed to commit Maverick County to implementation of Operation Lone Star.
In December 2021, Maverick County Attorney Jaime “A.J.” Iracheta received a grant from Governor Abbott’s Operation Lone Star for approximately $463,000 to implement the controversial “Catch and Jail” program by filing misdemeanor criminal trespass charges or other criminal mischief charges against undocumented immigrants in Maverick County Court. The new grant funds allowed Maverick County to hire additional Assistant County Attorneys, investigators, staff, and acquire computers and software programs to operate the program. In addition, the Maverick County Clerk’s Office received funding to hire new staff to assist with the filing and management of the new cases.
The first case filed in Maverick County Court for misdemeanor criminal trespass against an undocumented immigrant was on March 25, 2022 against a gentleman known as Salvador Martinez-Mendieta, Cause No. 30765. Since then an additional 395 cases have been filed against undocumented immigrants in Maverick County Court. It is expected that additional cases will continue to be filed against undocumented immigrants in Maverick County Court in Eagle Pass, Texas.
Maverick County Sheriff Tom Schmerber also received a grant of $1.2 million and the City of Eagle Pass Police Department received a grant of over $1.0 million to support and enforce Operation Lone Star, as well.
After all is said and done, the State of Texas transfers undocumented immigrants under Operation Lone Star “Catch and Jail” program to the U. S. Border Patrol (U.S. Department of Homeland Security) for final processing, review of their asylum or refugee petitions, release, removal, or deportation, doubling the cost of Texas taxpayers funds unnecessarily.
