Seven immigrants and an alleged human trafficker apprehended in La Salle County, Texas, April 24, 2021. Photo courtesy of the La Salle County Sheriff's Office
By Reese Oxner
Texas officials have emptied a prison to prepare it to hold immigrants arrested by state troopers as Gov. Greg Abbott ramps up the state’s law enforcement presence on the border.
Officials began transferring prisoners Wednesday from Dolph Briscoe Unit in Dilley — a small city around an hour drive southwest of San Antonio — to other facilities with available capacity so the prison can be used as a central holding facility for immigrants arrested as part of Abbott’s Operation Lone Star, Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesperson Jeremy Desel said in a statement.
It will be used to hold immigrants who have been charged with state or federal crimes, he said. It is unclear what charges these could entail, and Desel could not confirm whether that would include low-level charges.
Officials have not yet started detaining immigrants in the facility, but it will have the capacity for about 1,000 people. Desel confirmed the facility has no air conditioning, which is true about many prisons in the state. Weather forecasts for the area show highs surpassing 100 degrees next week.
“The state of Texas continues to deal with a record-high influx of individuals illegally crossing the border,” Desel said in the statement. “To address the ongoing crisis, Governor Abbott is directing state resources to arrest and confine those individuals crossing the border unlawfully and who have committed a state or federal crime.”
Plans for the prison were first reported by Keri Blakinger, a reporter with The Marshall Project.
The clearing of the prison began Wednesday — the same day that Abbott announced details of his plan for a Texas border wall, saying he would reallocate $250 million in funds from the TDCJ budget as a “down payment” while also soliciting private donations.
“State leadership has assured the agency that this is a temporary measure, and the money will be reappropriated without a negative impact on TDCJ,” Desel said.
Abbott referenced the available prison beds during his press conference Wednesday and said that the state may “need staff to staff those jail beds as well as others that may come up.” He said some states may send jail or enforcement officers to work with state agencies and local officials to meet staffing demands.
Desel said the prison’s current staff members — who total around 230 — will continue to staff the facility, and no external officers will be enlisted at this time. The TDCJ will provide “appropriate services” to those detained in the prison in conjunction with the Windham School District and the University of Texas Medical Branch, Desel said. But he said he couldn’t give details on what those services would include.
President Joe Biden and Abbott have continued to publicly spar over immigration policies as the number of immigrants crossing the border has increased.
In March, Abbott launched Operation Lone Star, which deployed the National Guard and “air, ground, marine and tactical border security assets” to the border. The Republican governor declared the situation at the border a disaster on May 31.
Biden’s administration has threatened legal action over Abbott’s previous order instructing state agencies to yank child care licenses from facilities that serve migrant children.
In his order, Abbott instructed the Texas Department of Public Safety to enforce all state and federal laws on trespassing, smuggling, and human trafficking and ordered two state criminal justice commissions to provide guidance and request “any necessary” waivers to give counties “the flexibility needed to establish adequate alternative detention facilities.”
“The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ), like other state agencies, is ready to assist in Operation Lone Star,” Desel said.
Politics reporter James Barragán contributed to this article. This story originally published by the Texas Tribune.
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Meanwhile, our new chief of police is threatening certain officers with in-service sensitivity training classes in the event of any disrespect allegedly occurring between his officers and local illegal aliens, according to sources within the department.
Local activist group Mano Amiga spokesman Jordan Buckley, in addition to his Mano Amiga secretary Alyssa Garza who also serves on city council, have reportedly admonished Chief Standridge that if he wishes to further the cause of peace in San Marcos, and possibly avoid any further police fatalities at the hand of illegal aliens (Officer Putnam killed, officers Franco and Mueller wounded April 18, 2020) that Standridge should make clear to his officers that any aggressive law enforcement on behalf of our local citizens will be met, unfortunately, with an equal and opposite response.
Mano Amiga: bringing Austin's tomorrow, to San Marcos today!
Here ya go Jacob - the Open Records Request I just filed with the city....I feel a Critical Race Theory series of articles in the cue.
"Documents of (1) number of Police Officers who have taken in-service sensitivity training classes and the (2) cost of each class and (3) copies of the course materials."
"Biden’s administration has threatened legal action over Abbott’s previous order instructing state agencies to yank child care licenses from facilities that serve migrant children."
Ummm...
- 1. Biden can't tell state agencies what to do. Simply not his rice bowl.
- 2. Where does he think these kids would go? Homeless.
Biden is a complete idiot.
You’re a complete idiot
I guess you distinguish Holeman as a "complete idiot" in relation to those transformed into incomplete idiots by Texas State University, and who are never happy unless jealously accusing another of being complete and capable of expressing disagreement with the status quo. Maybe we can mail you a doctorate degree, would that calm you down ? Or maybe just a GED ?
Okay, let's do this. Marquess of Queensberry rules. We'll discuss the pros & cons. As the challenger, I will go first and focus on the Pros:
1. BETTER -- All the children will be moved into the NEW state facilities that Abbott is trying to expedite.
2. NEEDS -- There we will be able to assess who they, where they came from, and what they need.
3. ECONOMY -- The local daycares will have more space for mommy & daddy citizen can use it as they try to get back to work post-COVID.
4. TAXES/BUDGET -- Everyone is in one spot so that Kamala can easily determine the "root cause" without having to travel all over the world.
5. VISIBILITY -- Everyone will be able to see with their own eyes exactly how bad this situation is, as opposed to relying on slanted media reporting.
.
.
.
The floor is yours. Go.
Partly to get this back on topic.... I'm still waiting. Round 1 went to me but you've had time to go back to your corner, talk to your trainers, and develop your strategic talking points. Round 2 is set to begin. Are you going to answer the bell?
- Why is Abbott's plan bad?
- Why is Biden's attempt to sue Texas the right course of action?
The audience wants a fight. Are you going to deliver or hide?
Holeman is the ONLY person who defends Holeman. Nice try ....we ALL know you are posting under different "names"
try opening a facebook account, oh that's right he has no audience on social media.....
Poor pooor Porvida. social media swami . . . (the world should stop ignoring her).
CRT is coming to SMID, that is what my crystal ball tells. Watch their last meeting. Also, watch how they chill the speech of a Hispanic male at the microphone. Do as we say not as we do.
CRT . . namely the "critical race theory" that targets white persons because of their "whiteness."
Why not just say, "Stop the hate - Segregate" Would that satisfy you?
Nope. Because slaves like yourself drool at the thought of owning slaves.
Greetings San Marcos, I watched the playback and have filed some Open Records Requests to find out how much this "Equity Audit" cost the taxpayers. Consultants with thrown together PowerPoint presentations whose recommendation was “Enroll every school leader as well as designated district leaders in the Anti-Racist Leadership Institute to increase their racial literacy, confidence, and ability to successfully navigate and compare racism in San Marcos CISD.” Guess who hosts the "Anti-Racist" Leadership Institute? The consultants host said high dollar expenditure. And, at least one of authors they recommend as reading materials (book) on their powerpoint is a stanch supporter of Kendi. So, there was an Equity Audit with “No granular data” the repeated phrase of the consultant to every question posed by the elected officials (with no flow up questions) that was preceded by the elected officials silencing a citizen. Hispanics silencing Hispanics. The recommendation makes huge assumptions about our educators which I believe are grounded in falsehoods and only serve to line the pockets of the consultants. Things that make you go hmmmm. And make you want to hurl. Article in the cue San Marcos. - LMC