News broke this week that another dead body was found in the buoys on the Texas border in Eagle Pass as a part of Gov. Abbott’s Operation Lone Star, a state response to “crack down” on cartel activity and illegal migration. The news comes as Texas is under fire for a string of human rights abuses related to the operation, including family separation, dangerous border barriers such as razor wire and water buoys, and orders to refuse migrants water and push children back into the river.
The most recent death is believed to be a Honduran man and is now a part of a growing list of atrocities associated with Operation Lone Star. The operation and Texas’ involvement at the border has led to outcries from human rights advocates and has prompted the Department of Justice to start an investigation into the state operation. President Biden has already ordered Texas to remove the buoys after Mexico made several complaints about them violating international treaties. Despite this, Texas officials seem unlikely to change the course with Gov. Abbott stating “Texas will see you in court, Mr. President,” setting up for a legal battle that will likely challenge the precedent set by Arizona v. US, which prevents states from enforcing immigration law.
Texas officials claim that Operation Lone Star and its other border policies are in response to the fentanyl crisis and cartel activity in Texas. On several occasions this past legislative session, Texas legislators claimed that their border policies are explicitly meant to target and hinder cartel criminal organizations, not innocent migrants (though the opposite appears to be true). Several border policies presented were portrayed as necessary to respond to the cartel’s overwhelming technological and firearm capabilities. Yet, none of the policies put forward by officials actually address the source of the cartels firepower – Texas gun laws.
The vast majority of guns used by Mexican cartels come from the United States with the leading provider being the Lone Star State. Estimates from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and other trackers say the US provides at least 200,000 guns a year to Mexican cartels, though some estimate more. From 2017-2021, 46% of guns recovered from crimes in Mexico traced back to Texas. Specifically, North Texas has become a central market for military grade firearms that are trafficked to Mexico, so much so that the route is referred to as the “Iron Pipeline.”
This is mainly due to strict gun laws in Mexico, a robust firearm market in the US and few legal pathways to restrict these types of sales. Mexico only has one firearm seller, which is run by their military, and distributes about 50 firearms licenses a year. The US on the other hand, until recently, had little to no federal statutes regulating firearm trafficking or straw purchases (the purchase of a firearm by one individual for another who is not legally permitted to own one). This means that it is legally challenging to prosecute firearm trafficking and even when successful leads to relatively easy sentences.
None of the policies by Texas officials meant to “crackdown” on cartels have even come close to looking at Texas gun laws. There was an attempt to make straw purchases illegal in Texas this past session, but the bill failed.
However, after the shooting in Uvalde, TX in 2022, the US passed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the first major piece of gun legislation since the 1994 assault rifle ban. This piece of legislation, which only recently has been implemented, has provided some new avenues for tackling firearm trafficking. Several components of the bill include the creation of a serious offense for illegal gun trafficking and the outlawing of straw purchases. This has led to the recent prosecution of several gun traffickers.
The bill has also provided promising reform in other areas of the gun debate. The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act contains provisions that allow the federal government to crackdown on online gun sales, which previously have been largely unregulated.
The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act is a significant piece of legislation in that it highlights the federal government taking significant steps to address serious public safety concerns with bipartisan support. It is legislation that is focused on good policy and not partisan, culture wars.
Now this is not to say that America’s gun problem is solved. Far from the case. But the Bipartisan Safer Communities highlights what is desperately needed in the immigration debate: holistic, bipartisan reform. States do not have the power (or sometimes the will) to fully address national issues like gun violence or immigration. If we want to tackle the root causes of these problems we will need more pieces of legislation like the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. None of these pieces of legislation will be easily passed or perfect in their implementation, but leaving it up to state actors is not an option. For immigration reform, a good place to start is the Dignidad Act. See Fabi’s post for more info on it.