Texas may begin bussing migrants to ICE centers instead of sanctuary

Texas could begin bussing migrants straight to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding centers for deportation, rather than transporting them to sanctuary cities, according to a New York Post exclusive.

Gov. Greg Abbott has yet to approve the proposal, which was filed in connection to the existing transportation system used for the Operation Lone Star program. Beginning in April 2022, the Texas Division of Emergency Management arranged for buses to transport migrants from Texas to sanctuary cities like Washington, D.C., New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia, Denver and Los Angeles. By January of this year, the program had transported over 100,000 migrants to these cities.

Intended to deter migrants from entering the U.S. illegally, Operation Lone Star had, by January, led to over 495,400 apprehensions and 38,300 criminal arrests, over 34,700 of which involved felony charges. Texas law enforcement had also intercepted over 453 million lethal doses of fentanyl, the Governor’s Office reports.

The source within the Texas government, whose identity was kept anonymous, told The Post about efforts to allow such transport to take migrants directly to federal detention centers rather than sanctuary cities in order to speed up the deportation process.

“We are always gonna be involved in border security so long as we’re a border state,” the source said. “We spent a lot of taxpayer money to have the level of deterrent that we have on the border, and we can’t just walk away.”

President-Elect Donald Trump’s new “Border Czar,” Tom Homan, agrees with the shift, the source continued. The ICE agents would also reimburse the state government for the bus contract.

Migrants and asylum seekers are patted down by security personnel as they prepare to board a bus after being detained by U.S. Border Patrol agents after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in Somerton, near the Cocopah Indian Tribe's reservation boundaries, on May 11, 2023. — Migrants and asylum seekers are patted down by security personnel as they prepare to board a bus after being detained by U.S. Border Patrol agents after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in Somerton, near the Cocopah Indian Tribe’s reservation boundaries, on May 11, 2023.

Greg Abbott meets with Trump’s ‘Border Czar’

Homan and Gov. Abbott met at the Texas-Mexico border last week to discuss the immigration crisis, where Homan pledged to carry out a “mass deportation” of undocumented immigrants.

While Homan and Abbott did not directly speak on the future of the migrant buses, Homan told The Post he “look[s] forward to discussing that.”

“We’re going to help them finish this job and secure Texas and we’re going to work in partnership. And [Abbott] doesn’t have to worry about this administration suing him … to secure the Texas border,” he added.’

'Border czar': Trump has appointed Tom Homan to oversee deportation policy and aviation security. Homan was a Border Patrol agent for 34 years and served in Trump's first administration as acting ICE director. He drew controversy for strict immigration enforcement, including the "zero-tolerance" policy which separated families of undocumented immigrants. — ‘Border czar’: Trump has appointed Tom Homan to oversee deportation policy and aviation security. Homan was a Border Patrol agent for 34 years and served in Trump’s first administration as acting ICE director. He drew controversy for strict immigration enforcement, including the “zero-tolerance” policy which separated families of undocumented immigrants.

Texas Land Commissioner launches ‘Jocelyn Initiative’

During a series of meetings, Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham announced the launch of the “Jocelyn Initiative,” another program aimed at fighting undocumented immigration.

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The initiative is named after 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray, a Houston girl who authorities say was killed in June by two Venezuelan gang members who entered the U.S. illegally, according to The Texas Tribune. Nungaray’s mother and grandfather, Alexis and Jackie, were in attendance at Buckingham’s news conference.

“Our goal is to ensure that no other parent has to, unfortunately, experience what Alexis has experienced,” Buckingham said.

The news conference was held in the border town of La Casita-Garciasville, on the massive Starr County ranch the Texas General Land Office recently purchased. Last week, Buckingham offered the property to President-elect Donald Trump to build detention centers.

Earlier this month, during the heated race between Rep. Colin Allred, D-Dallas, and Sen. Ted Cruz for U.S. Senate, Alexis was used in a campaign ad stating that Allred bears significant responsibility for the death of Houstonian Jocelyn due to his “open border” policies at the Texas-Mexico border.

In a similar advertisement supporting President-elect Trump, Alexis recounted the experience of her daughter, recalling how she saw cop cars after tracking her daughter’s phone location just two minutes away. In the ad, she stated that Jocelyn was found in a creek with all four limbs bound and that she was “strangled to death, left with no pants.”

“The Jocelyn Initiative in which we will locate appropriate land under my jurisdiction to lease for the construction of violent criminal deportation facilities,” Buckingham continued. “My office has identified several of our properties and is standing by ready to make this happen on day one of the Trump presidency.”

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas may bus migrants to ICE centers instead of sanctuary cities

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