Attorney General Paxton: Reports Suggesting Texas’ Operation Lone Star Is Unconstitutional Is ‘Fake News’
February 7, 2022 | Texas
Multiple news reports suggesting that a Travis County judge ruled that Texas’ Operation Lone Star is unconstitutional is “fake news,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s Office says.
To suggest the state’s border security measures are unconstitutional “is absolutely ludicrous and wrong,” Paxton told The Center Square.
The constitutionality of the program has been questioned by some human rights organizations, the ACLU of Texas, and some Democratic lawmakers who’ve asked the Department of Justice to investigate it, arguing it sets up an alternate immigration system. Media reports have also advanced a narrative that a Texas judge ruled Operation Lone Star was unconstitutional.
“On Jan. 13, a Travis County judge ruled that Gov. [Greg] Abbott’s state-run border enforcement operation violates the U.S. Constitution,” Texas Public Radio stated, citing an Austin American Statesman article. ABC News, MSNBC and others ran similar headlines and stories.
But Texas Deputy Attorney General Aaron Reitz said at a recent Texas Public Policy Foundation event, “This is fake news. Fake news. It’s not what the judge ruled. Operation Lone Star is 100% constitutional. Attorney General Paxton will defend its constitutionality in court.”.. (Excerpt from the Virginia Star)
