In Texas governor's latest 'catch and jail' border policy flub, migrants released due to bad paperwork

Gov. Greg Abbott's "catch and jail" border policy has racked up yet another procedural blunder, according to the Texas Tribune.

A court last week dropped state trespassing charges against roughly 30 migrants arrested under Abbott's attempted border crackdown, the nonprofit news site reports. The cases were dismissed because court documents didn't identify the property where the men were allegedly violating the law.

The dismissals are the latest gaffe under Operation Lone Star, an initiative Abbott kicked off this summer in a bid to tweak the Biden administration over its enforcement of immigration policies. The Republican governor said he planned to halt a surge in border crossings by arresting and bringing state charges against those suspected of illegally crossing over from Mexico.

Easier said than done, apparently. 

Last month, a state district judge ordered Texas to release 250 migrants jailed as part of Abbott's initiative. The arrestees languished behind bars for more than a month without being charged with a crime, an apparent violation of state law.

A separate investigation by the Texas Tribune revealed that roughly 900 people arrested under Abbott's program had been detained for weeks without facing charges.

Last week, U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro of San Antonio and 25 other House Democrats sent a letter asking the White House to investigate Operation Lone Star, arguing that it both usurped federal immigration oversight and deprived migrants of due process.

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