Austin American-Statesman by Tony Plohetski Katie Hall 1/14/2022
Texas AG Paxton to appeal Austin judge's ruling that Operation Lone Star is unconstitutional
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a tweet on Friday that he will appeal a ruling by a Travis County district judge that a state-led border crackdown called Operation Lone Star is unconstitutional.
Judge Jan Soifer ruled that the arrest of Jesus Guzman Curipoma, an Ecuadoran man seeking asylum in America, on a state criminal trespass charge amounted to illegal enforcement of federal immigration laws. The ruling opens the door to similar court challenges of migrants arrested and detained on state trespassing charges under a border initiative led by Gov. Greg Abbott.
Because the legal challenge was brought in Travis County, District Attorney José Garza represented the state. He sided with defense attorneys in Thursday's hearing.
"Lib Austin judge lets a (George) Soros Travis County DA represent State of Tx, then declares Op Lone Star unconstitutional," Paxton wrote. "Ridiculous. Biden has FAILED to secure border. Texas stepped in. We have the right to defend our border if the feds refuse. I'll fight this nonsense on appeal."
Soifer is a Democrat and former chairwoman of the Travis County Democratic Party.
More:
https://www.statesman.com/story/news/2022/01/14/operation-lone-star-ruling-texas-ken-paxton-vows-appeal-ruling/6525459001/
