CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Local civil rights advocates are reacting to Governor Abbott's new Executive Order that gives the National Guard members and State Troopers the power to detain undocumented immigrants and return them to ports of entry along the Texas - Mexico border.
"What Governor Abbott is trying to do is use state taxpayers' money and try to unlawfully detain immigrants and send them across the border," said LULAC Council #1 president Dr. Nick Adame. "Something that LULAC will start looking into is to see if there any civil rights violation involved in that."
Adame said that the migration problem is there but said there are other solutions to address it. Brooks County Judge Eric Ramos believes the governor's latest action is in line with his political agenda.
"It's not that there isn't a problem, there is a problem, problem is Governor Abbott is running for re-election and he seems to want to use this stage and state resources as his political campaign fund and it's just not appropriate."
Abbott has repeatedly blamed the Biden administration for not securing the border.
Immigration lawyer Heather Moretzsohn said the Governor's newest order may trigger a lawsuit.
"The federal government has the sole authority to handle immigration matters," said Moretzsohn. "There is likely that this executive order may be appealed."
In a message, DPS spokesperson Lt. Christopher Olivarez stated:
"The department is acting under the direction of Governor Greg Abbott’s Executive Order No. GA-41. At this time, we are unable to discuss operational specifics."
"We have to maintain the humanitarian aspect of what we do as an organization and look for any civil rights violations," said Adame.
