Greg Abbott's Operation Lone Star began arresting suspected border crossers on state trespassing charges in 2021; in its first seven months about 40% of more than 7,200 arrests involved only trespassing, and many of those arrested spent months in Texas prisons.
Abbott also pardoned Daniel Perry, convicted of murdering an Austin protester, and his state troopers' arrests in Austin fell overwhelmingly on Black and Latino residents.
Greg Abbott's Border Arrests, Pardon and State Trooper Deployment
- Abbott's Border Operation Jailed Thousands on Trespassing Charges, Many for Months. In the summer of 2021, months into Operation Lone Star, Greg Abbott announced that with landowners' permission Texas would for the first time arrest people suspected of crossing the border illegally on state trespassing charges. State police had begun making the arrests and jailing people by July 22, 2021, the AP reported. Of the more than 7,200 arrests state police made in the operation's first seven months, about 40% involved only trespassing; the men arrested were held in state prisons for weeks or months, and one told a judge, "I've been in 103 days today," the Texas Tribune reported with ProPublica and The Marshall Project in April 2022. Among those arrested were asylum seekers, including a Venezuelan human rights lawyer.
- Abbott Pardoned Daniel Perry a Year After a Jury Convicted Him of Murder. On May 16, 2024, Greg Abbott pardoned Daniel Perry, whom Travis County jurors had found guilty in 2023 of murdering Garrett Foster at a 2020 Austin march; Abbott had asked the parole board to review the case one day after the verdict, the Texas Tribune reported. The pardon erased a 25-year sentence after Perry had served 372 days and restored his gun rights, and Foster's partner said it made Texans less safe.
- Nine in Ten People Abbott's Troopers Arrested in Austin Were Black or Latino. Greg Abbott sent Department of Public Safety troopers to patrol Austin in late March 2023 and added 30 more after the city ended the partnership that July, the Texas Tribune reported. About 9 out of every 10 people state troopers arrested in Austin were Black or Latino, according to April 2023 data from the Travis County Attorney's Office.
What Greg Abbott's Criminal Justice Record Means for Texans in Jail
- Texas prisons held border trespassing defendants for months before their first court date. In most Operation Lone Star trespassing cases, the men arrested sat in Texas lockups for up to several months, told little about their cases, before a first video hearing in court, the Texas Tribune reported.
Frequently Asked Questions About Greg Abbott on Criminal justice
What is Greg Abbott's record on criminal justice under Trump?
Greg Abbott's Operation Lone Star jailed thousands of migrants on state trespassing charges, many for months. He pardoned Daniel Perry, and his troopers' Austin arrests fell overwhelmingly on Black and Latino residents.
Did Greg Abbott keep state troopers in Austin after the city ended the partnership?
Yes. When Austin's mayor and interim city manager ended the city's policing partnership with the Department of Public Safety in July 2023, Greg Abbott kept troopers patrolling the city and sent 30 more, the Texas Tribune reported; by then, data showed the troopers arresting Black and Latino residents out of proportion to their numbers.
Who did Greg Abbott's Operation Lone Star arrest for trespassing?
Greg Abbott's Operation Lone Star most often arrested migrants accused only of misdemeanor trespassing on private land, including farmworkers looking for work and asylum seekers, the Texas Tribune found with ProPublica and The Marshall Project in 2022.
Last updated: 2026-10-26