Texas to Shutter Booking Facility as Border Arrests Dwindle
A group of migrants wait to be processed after crossing the Rio Grande river in El Paso, Texas, on April 2.
Photographer: Brandon Bell/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
Texas will close a centralized booking facility near its border with Mexico, the latest signal from the state that part of its massive border security apparatus may no longer be necessary.
Governor Greg Abbott opened the facility in Jim Hogg County in 2022 as part of Operation Lone Star, an $11 billion effort to crack down on illegal immigration. Because Texas law enforcement couldn’t arrest people solely for crossing the border — a power that rests with federal authorities — the state instead charged migrants with crimes like trespassing on private property, which they had been given power to do under a 2021 rule.