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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
August 30, 2023
CONTACT:
Alan Lizárraga | (915) 355-0109 | alizarraga@bnhr.org
**PRESS ADVISORY**
Frontera Texas Coalition To Hold Border-Wide Actions in Response to the TX National Guard Violent Shooting Incident & To Call for the Immediate Halt of the Unconstitutional Operation Lone Star (OLS)
Texas Border Grassroots Organizations will Host Mobilizations Throughout the Southern Border on Sept. 1 as part of Frontera Texas Organizing Project’s “The Border in Action: Resisting Operation Lone Star” Day of Action.
WHAT: As our nation continues to bear witness of the damaging, violent, and horrific events Operation Lone Star (OLS) has unfolded at the Texas-Mexico southern border, in addition to the recent shooting near the Bridge of the Americas in El Paso, Texas, where a 22-year-old Mexican national was wounded by a gunshot fired by the Texas National Guard, the Frontera Texas Coalition is hosting a border-wide action, "The Border in Action: Resisting Operation Lone Star," on Friday, Sept. 1, 2023 against the anti-immigrant policies going in effect, the false narrative on the humanitarian crisis in our border communities, and resistance to Operation Lone Star (OLS).
Communities in El Paso will be joined by Presidio, Eagle Pass, and the Rio Grande Valley to send a message to our state and federal governments jointly.
**There are several events happening on Sept. 1st, please see below**
WHO: Hosted by the Frontera Texas Organizing Project (FTOP) with the participation of:
- The Border Network for Human Rights (BNHR)
- ARISE Adelante
- La Unión del Pueblo Entero (LUPE)
- Border Workers United (BWU)
- American Civil Liberties Union of Texas (ACLU TX)
WHEN: Friday, September 1st, 2023
WHERE:
El Paso, Texas:
9:30 am MST: Community March starting at Sacred Heart Church
10:00 am MST: Press Conference and Rally
Hosted by Border Network for Human Rights (BNHR)
*The event will be live-streamed on Border Network for Human Rights Facebook page**
Presidio, Texas:
7:00 pm CST: Silent Community March
312 E O'Reilly St, Presidio, TX 79845
Hosted by BNHR’s Human Rights Center in Presidio, TX
Brownsville, Texas:
10 am CST: Press Conference
Hope Park (1300 E. Levee St. Brownsville, TX 78251)
Hosted by American Civil Liberties Union of Texas and Borders Workers United
San Juan, Texas:
6 pm CST: Community Event
1601 US-83 BUS, San Juan, TX 78589
Hosted by La Unión del Pueblo Entero (LUPE), ARISE Adelante, American Civil Liberties Union of Texas and Borders Workers United
Pharr, Texas:
10 am CST: Rally and Vigil
City Hall Park (118 S. Cage Blvd. Pharr, Texas 78577)
Hosted by ARISE Adelante
EL PASO, Texas – The Frontera Texas Organizing Project (FTOP), an initiative coordinated by the Border Network for Human Rights (BNHR) will host a border-wide action on Friday, Sept. 1, "The Border in Action: Resisting Operation Lone Star," against the anti-immigrant policies, the false narrative on the humanitarian crisis in our border communities, and resistance to Operation Lone Star. Communities in El Paso will be joined by Presidio, Eagle Pass, and the Rio Grande Valley to send a message to our state and federal governments jointly.
“Under Gov. Abbott's leadership, the State of Texas has continued to usurp Federal authority and unleashed unnecessary chaos at our southern border. In the last several months, our nation has witnessed the harmful impact Operation Lone Star has had on our communities. Our safe and secure border communities are now filled with concertina wire, physical barriers, buoys, staged vehicles, and hundreds of military personnel. The surgence of this state funded militarization is brewing unnecessary deaths and countless human and civil rights abuses,” said Fernando Garcia, executive director of the BNHR
During the 88th Texas Legislative Session, dozens of anti-immigrant, border security bills were introduced fueling the erroneous racist, xenophobic, and white-supremacist rhetoric plaguing our nation. A total of 5.1 billion dollars of taxpayer money were allocated for border security measures, which will contribute to the militarization of border communities and the criminalization of migrants and refugees. Additionally, Gov. Abbott’s unconstitutional Operation Lone Star (OLS) has drained over 4 billion dollars of taxpayer money and instituted the State of Texas as the epicenter of aggressions against border residents, people of color, migrants and refugees.
"The racism, xenophobia, and inhumanity rooted within Gov. Abbott's Operation Lone Star must be put to an immediate halt. On Sept. 1, Texas border communities will come together to take a stand against the violence and cruelty that has been unleashed, and will demand immediate action from our federal and state governments,” added Fernando Garcia.
The Frontera Texas Coalition is demanding immediate action to put a stop to Gov. Abbott's ill-conceived, unconstitutional, and inhumane border enforcement strategies by calling for:
- A criminal investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) into the violent and disproportionate use of lethal force by the Texas National Guard soldiers and to legally challenge the State of Texas for usurping federal powers with the implementation of Operation Lone Star;
- The immediate withdrawal of all Texas National Guard personnel and Department of Public Safety officers from the Texas southern border and our communities;
- The Texas Legislature to swiftly initiate an investigation of the practices under DPS and Texas National Guard;
- The Texas Legislature cease and desist all current Operation Lone Star activities and withhold funding for future operations under this program until the investigation is finalized and
- The Texas Legislature, Governor Abbott, and his administration remove all concertina wire, physical barriers, buoys, and military vehicles from the border and Rio Grande.
Texas border grassroots organizations will host additional mobilizations and actions throughout the southern border on Sept. 1 as part of Frontera Texas Organizing Project’s “The Border in Action: Resisting Operation Lone Star” Day of Action.
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