By Joseph Morton
https://www.dallasnews.com
WASHINGTON — Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday launched a “Texas’ 10 Most Wanted Criminal Illegal Immigrants” list, calling it a public-security measure to track down dangerous criminals.
Critics called the list a stunt intended to distract from other issues and feared it could boost anti-immigrant sentiment.
In a news release touting the new list, Abbott criticized President Joe Biden for his handling of the border, saying lax federal policies have produced record levels of illegal immigration that include dangerous criminals entering the country.
The new most-wanted list is an effort to locate and arrest repeat offenders, he said.
“Texas is a law-and-order state, and with the help of our fellow Texans, we will ensure that the illegal immigrants on this list are taken off our streets and put behind bars to keep our communities safe,” Abbott said.
“Texas will continue to take unprecedented action to protect Texans and our state from President Biden’s border crisis,” he said.
U.S. Rep. Greg Casar, D-Austin, said people who commit serious crimes should be held accountable regardless of their immigration status.
But, Casar added, Abbott’s most-wanted list is the kind of “stunt” that boosts anti-immigrant sentiment and is intended to distract from Abbott’s broader agenda that fails Texans.
“[Abbott’s agenda has] been starving our public school teachers, giving tax cuts to his billionaire buddies and then trying to drum up the latest fear mongering tactic against some other vulnerable group,” Casar said.
Robert Heyman, assistant director of policy and development at Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center, said Abbott’s list would have a marginal impact on bringing a small number of people to justice, but undermine public safety by harming community relationships and frightening immigrant crime victims from going to the police.
“Crime is falling in Texas; our communities are remarkably safe,” he said in a statement. “Crime rates by immigrants are lower than those of their native-born peers. There’s just no reason why Texans should have their Governor making them live in fear right now rather than enjoying their summer with their families.”
The most-wanted list follows other Republican-led policies embracing immigration and border security as powerful political issues.
Abbott has bused more than 100,000 migrants to major Democratic-run cities like Washington, New York and Chicago. He also launched Operation Lone Star, a multibillion-dollar state border security initiative that has led to court battles with the Biden administration, particularly over its operations in Eagle Pass.
The Biden administration has said the river buoys, razor wire and other border-related measures implemented under Abbott have made it tougher for Border Patrol agents to do their jobs.
With polls showing an advantage for Republicans on border issues, Biden announced new asylum restrictions this week that brought criticism from groups advocating for migrant rights.
Those restrictions kick in if the system is overwhelmed, a threshold defined as 2,500 average daily border encounters with migrants, and would be lifted once daily average encounters fall below 1,500. Because the daily average is already above 2,500, the restrictions went into effect Wednesday.
While in effect, the new rules generally bar migrants crossing between ports of entry from seeking asylum, with some exceptions such as unaccompanied children.
GOP lawmakers have predicted the changes will accomplish little and are intended as political cover for the upcoming presidential contest.
Abbott said the most-wanted list will be funded by the Governor’s Public Safety Office, with Texas Crime Stoppers offering cash rewards for information leading to the arrest of anyone featured on the list.
Everyone on the initial list was identified as a “White (Hispanic) Male” and listed as a suspect for serious crimes including murder and attempted human smuggling. Six were suspected of sexual offenses involving children.
State Sen. Charles Schwertner, R-Georgetown, hailed the new list.
“President Biden continues to put Texans in harm’s way by letting criminals walk into our country,” Schwertner said on X. “Through the launch of Texas’ 10 Most Wanted Criminal Illegal Immigrants List, the public will be able to help DPS locate & apprehend these dangerous illegal aliens.”
Republicans have highlighted cases of immigrant crimes and blamed Democratic policies for the harm caused, including the February slaying of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley.
A Venezuelan immigrant, who authorities say entered the country illegally, has pleaded not guilty to murder and other charges in her death.
Democrats have responded by pointing to research such as a December 2020 study that found “undocumented immigrants had substantially lower crime rates than native-born citizens and legal immigrants across a range of felony offenses.”
This story, originally published in The Dallas Morning News, is reprinted as part of a collaborative partnership between The Dallas Morning News and Texas Metro News. The partnership seeks to boost coverage of Dallas’ communities of color, particularly in southern Dallas.
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