Texas DPS Trooper Medic’s Email Details Governor Abbott’s Operation Lone Star Inhumane Treatment of Migrants
By: Ricardo E. Calderon, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2023
A Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Trooper working as a medic during June 24 to July 1, 2023 in Eagle Pass, Texas as part of the Governor Greg Abbott’s controversial Operation Lone Star Program witnessed a litany of cruel and inhumane treatment towards undocumented immigrants and families, including children, seeking asylum or refugee legal status while attempting to cross the Rio Grande into the United States was so abhorrent that he wrote an email to his supervisor detailing his concerns regarding the inhumane policies and orders given by supervisors to DPS Troopers and Texas National Guard soldiers, blowing the lid off this controversial $10 Billion state taxpayers funded boondoggle and publicity stunt.
The DPS Trooper Medic emailed his supervisor “I am a very proud Trooper and Medic for Texas DPS. I love this State and this Department. I fully understand the mission of Operation Lone Star and completely agree that we need to secure the border from bad people. I want to inform you of the some of the issues we had while working the operation as a Trooper Medic from 6/24/23 to 7/1/23 in Eagle Pass, TX.”
The email continued stating: “On 6/23/23 we went on patrol to see how many gates were locked on the fence line south of the casualty wire at approximately 2200. In while doing so we came across 120 people camped out along the fence line. In this group there was several small children and babies who were nursing. The entire group was exhausted, hungry and tired. We called the Shift Officer in Command, and we were given orders to push the people back into the water to go to Mexico. We decided that this was not the correct thing to do. With the very real potential of exhausted people drowning, we made contact with Command again and expressed our concerns and we were given the order to tell them to go to Mexico and get into our vehicle and leave. After we left, members of the brush team coordinated with Border Patrol and got the people processed and taken care of.”
The email added: “On 6/30/23 at approximately 1500 we had group of people at the casualty wire seeking refuge. In this group was a 4 year old female who attempted to cross the wire and was pressed back by Texas Guard soldiers due to the orders given to them. The temperature was well over 100 degrees. Shortly thereafter, the 4 year old passed out due to exhaustion and a DPS Sgt. and Texas Guard Soldier extricated the patient and transported to us. We provided treatment to the unresponsive patient and transferred care to EMS.”
The Trooper Medic emailed continued: “On 6/30/23 we had an adult male with a significant laceration in his left leg. We asked him what happened and he stated that he had a child who was stuck on a trap in the water. He said that there was a barrel that had casualty wire all over it and his child was stuck on it. He extricated his kid and while doing so the barrel trap lacerated his leg.”
The email continued stating: “On 6/30/23 at approximately 2130 while patrolling the casualty wire near Pecan Farms we came across a 19 year old female who was in obvious pain stuck in the casualty wire who was doubled over. We cut her out of the wire and medically assessed her. She was pregnant and was having a miscarriage. We promptly coordinated with Eagle Pass EMS and transferred care.”
The email added: “With the casualty wire running for several miles along the river in areas where it is easier for people to cross. It forces people to cross in other areas that are deeper and not as safe for people carrying kids and bags. On 7/1/23 at approximately 1630 we had reports from Border Patrol that there was a mother and two children struggling to cross the river. Our TMU boat team searched for the victims and found the mother and one child who went under the water for a minute. They rescued two of the victims and started life saving measures. They were transferred to Eagle Pass EMS and were later called deceased at the hospital. The other child that Border Patrol saw was never found. In total 5 people drowned this week in the area of operation.”
The DPS Trooper Medic concluded the email stating: “I truly believe in the mission of Operation Lone Star; I believe we a have stepped over a line into the in humane. We need to operate it correctly in the eyes of God. We need to recognize that these are people who are made in the image of God and need to be treated as such. The casualty wire needs to provide protection to the state and provide a safe means of travel on solid land to proper collection points. The wire also needs to be manned and patrolled constantly to provide security for these families who are seeking refuge. The wire on the shore needs to be lighted at night so people can see the wire and not stumble into it as a trap. The wire and barrels in the river needs to be taken out as this is nothing but a in humane trap in high water and low visibility. Due to the extreme heat, the order to not give people water needs to be immediately reversed as well. I also believe that forcing refugees to cross back into Mexico vs getting them to Border Patrol is putting them back in the hands of the Cartels where they are assaulted, robbed and raped. This plays into advantage of the Cartels as they can charge them again to cross them over. I say all of this in due respect and deep concern, thank you.”
This brave and courageous DPS Trooper Medic’s email to his supervisor has publicly exposed the policies and orders of the controversial Operation Lone Star Program and what many DPS, National Guard soldiers, U. S. Border Patrol, U. S. Customs and Border Protection, and other law enforcement officers have known for some time now that a straight law enforcement approach only creates a cruel and inhumane treatment of migrants, more violence and deaths, and heightens pressure and stress on all participants involved in both legal and illegal immigration.
The startling DPS Trooper Medic’s email has drawn strong criticism and consternation from local, state, national, and international leaders against Governor Abbott’s Operation Lone Star Program, including the installation of buoys in the Rio Grande in Eagle Pass.
Local Rio Grande River Advocate, businessman, and retired educator Jessie F. Fuentes stated: “I am greatly disappointed, but not surprised, by the cruel and inhumane treatment of migrants seeking asylum and refugee legal status in the United States by Governor Abbott’s Operation Lone Star at Eagle Pass, Texas. I am deeply saddened by the unnecessary deaths and injuries among migrants caused by the inhumane policies of Operation Lone Star as revealed by the DPS Trooper Medic’s email. Our community demands respect and our culture, history, and people be treated with dignity.”
Texas State Senator Roland Gutierrez of San Antonio, Texas stated: “What is happening at our southern border is not security in any sense of the word. This is cruelty, inflicted by a governor that has failed to keep Texans safe. I am calling for a swift investigation into this matter by the U. S. Department of Justice and for the Federal authorities to shut down Abbott’s unconstitutional rogue operation.”
Senator Gutierrez added “There are few greater sins in this world than watching children scream in agony from ‘traps’ that were set for them by law enforcement officials. I believe these new orders and policy changes violate federal law and our international agreements with Mexico.”
Congressman Joaquin Castro of San Antonio, Texas stated that the DPS Trooper’s email are “absolutely monstrous, inhumane policy” and recommended the Biden Administration to step in and stop Abbott’s unilateral action against migrants and the installation of the buoys in the Rio Grande.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated if the DPS Trooper’s email is correct, “It is abhorrent. It is despicable. It is dangerous.”
Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, President and CEO of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS) stated “These new accounts expose a heart-wrenching lack of regard for the sanctity of human dignity as Governor Abbott ratchets up rogue border security efforts….These actions betray the very essence of who we are as a nation of refuge for the persecuted and oppressed. Desperate children and families seeking safety are not cause for existential panic and draconian experiments in deterrence….The world is watching, and it is our shared responsibility to ensure that both Texas and the United States remain a beacon of humanity, not symbols of callous indifference and perpetrators of intentional acts of harm.”
Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador stated in his daily press conference on July 16, 2023 that Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s installation of buoys in the Rio Grande was nothing more than a publicity and vulgar stunt designed to make Americans believe that he and the Republican Party are doing something about the immigration and drug problems in the United States. President Lopez Obrador encouraged Mexicans living in the United States not to vote for Abbott and Republican local, state, and federal candidates and/or elected public officials.
Governor Abbott issued a press statement on July 17, 2023 in response to the criticism, stating “No orders or directions have been given under Operation Lone Star that would compromise the lives of those attempting to cross the border illegally.”
