Migrants apprehended under Operation Lone Star sue Gov. Abbott

A group of migrants apprehended under Operation Lone Star have filed a lawsuit against Gov. Greg Abbott, claiming the governor’s controversial border mission is unconstitutional. The migrants were arrested and charged with criminal trespass in Kinney County, but claim they were held in custody even after posting bond or having their charges dismissed. Angelica Cogliano, an attorney representing the plaintiffs, told The Texas Newsroom her clients’ experiences show Operation Lone Star is unconstitutional. “And the way you know that is because (the migrants) are being prosecuted for that state-level crime differently than anybody else in the state gets prosecuted for that state-level crime,” Cogliano said.

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas in Austin, seeks an injunction. The plaintiffs are also asking the federal court to declare Operation Lone Star unconstitutional and award plaintiffs monetary damages and attorneys’ fees. Additionally, Cogliano said the plaintiffs are asking for the defendants to stop holding those arrested under Operation Lone Star in custody after posting bonds, entering a plea or once charges are dismissed. The defendants in the case are Gov. Greg Abbott, Department of Public Safety Dir. Steven McCraw, Department of Criminal Justice Dir. Bryan Collier, Kinney County Sheriff Brad Coe, and Kinney County. All of them, except for the county, were sued in their individual capacities. “Even if Operation Lone Star was constitutional because they were just enforcing their own state criminal laws, then they still need to follow the laws of our state criminal justice system,” Cogliano said. “And those laws are that once somebody’s criminal case has concluded … then there’s no jurisdiction to hold them anymore. They have to be released from custody.”