Hispanic Democrats Call for Investigation into Separation of Migrant Fathers; Texas Separates Migrant Families, Detaining Fathers on Trespassing Charges in Latest Border Move

Hispanic Democrats call for investigation into separation of migrant fathers:

Hispanic Democrats are calling on the Biden administration to investigate Texas over a series of alleged human rights violations stemming from local authorities arresting migrant men on accusations of criminal trespassing.

In a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) asked the feds to take action to stop the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) from “intentionally separating migrant families.”

“Texas is arresting and jailing people who have committed crimes in Texas. While doing so, Texas ensures that children are not separated from their mothers. Until President Biden and Congress do their jobs to secure the border, Texas will continue taking historic action to respond to this border crisis,” said Andrew Mahaleris, a spokesperson for Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R).

According to the caucus’s members, the Texas department’s policy of arresting certain migrants for criminal trespassing — a practice that aims to inject local criminal consequences for crossing the U.S.-Mexico border — has resulted in the separation of at least 26 families.

The lawmakers said they confirmed the practice in a recent caucus tour of the border.

The letter, first reported by PBS NewsHour, alleges that the arrests of migrant men are followed by a series of human rights violations including lengthy pretrial detention and faulty legal advice.

“For example, CHC members learned, that migrants were being told that they could either wait 6-9 months in jail or, if they want to be reunited with their families, they could plead guilty and get out on bond automatically,” wrote the lawmakers, noting that pretrial detention for class B misdemeanors in Texas usually lasts one to three days. —>READ MORE HERE

Texas Separates Migrant Families, Detaining Fathers on Trespassing Charges in Latest Border Move:

Texas state police officers separated migrant families along the border with Mexico by detaining fathers on trespassing charges and turning over mothers and children to federal officials, the state Department of Public Safety said Thursday.

The separations mark a shift from previous comments by Texas state police leaders who said families should stay together and be referred to federal officers. Amrutha Jindal, chief defender for Operation Lone Star Indigent Defense, told The Associated Press that based on the cases her organization has seen, the number of family separations may be closer to 40 or more. She said exact data does not exist and their estimates are based on cases encountered by their attorneys.

Jindal said they have identified separations in Maverick County — which encompasses the border town of Eagle Pass — over the last month.

Jindal said her organization is unclear how distinctions are being made on who is part of a family unit. She said attorneys her organization appointed to Operation Lone Star clients noticed the issue when they began hearing concerns from clients who didn’t know where their relatives were.

“Some were told that they would reunite with their wife and child,” Jindal said. “Of course, that didn’t happen. They were instead taken to a prison. Others were told they would never see their wife and child again.”

Travis Considine, spokesman for the Department of Public Safety, said in a statement that children have never been separated from their mothers, but “there have been instances in which DPS has arrested male migrants on state charges who were with their family when the alleged crime occurred.”

Gov. Greg Abbott’s office referred questions to Department of Public Safety officials, who did not respond to additional requests for comment, including how many families have been separated, when they began and where the detained men are being taken. —>READ MORE HERE

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