EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – A grassroots organization says it has documented cases of verbal and physical abuse against asylum-seekers crossing the Rio Grande to surrender to U.S. federal authorities in El Paso.
The alleged abuse includes calling migrants “rats,” slapping them in the back of the head and choking them with the straps of a backpack. It is coming from Texas soldiers taking part in Gov. Greg Abbott’s Operation Lone Star, alleges Fernando Garcia, executive director of the Border Network for Human Rights.
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“We began looking into this after people came to us with complaints. We put together a report showing that Texas Guard soldiers are physically and verbally assaulting refugee families and depriving them of their right to petition for asylum by (wielding) lethal and non-lethal weapons at them,” Garcia said at a joint news conference with the Texas Civil Rights Project on Wednesday.
Degrading insults also are being used to deter illegal immigration, the groups said.