The Texas Supreme Court has issued an order allowing out-of-state lawyers to represent migrants arrested under a controversial state border program.
The enforcement program under Operation Lone Star has been plagued by obstacles, including a shortage of public defenders, in particular Spanish-speaking attorneys.
The program aims to enforce federal immigration law indirectly by charging migrants with misdemeanor trespassing for crossing into Texas on private ranchland. Texas officials have touted the program as a “catch and jail” policy, in contrast to the much maligned “catch and release” practice of the U.S. Border Patrol.
However, the program has had little overall impact on migrant flows and has struggled with practical challenges. County governments along the border lack the capacity in their judicial system to process large numbers of arrestees, so the state has needed to stand up special courts and detention facilities to process the cases.
The Texas Supreme Court has appointed special judges and prosecutors, and the Department of Criminal Justice has converted state prisons to house the migrants.
In an emergency order January 21, the high court authorized out-of-state attorneys to practice law in Texas if he or she is providing public defender services “to indigent defendants arrested for misdemeanor offenses under Operation Lone Star launched by Governor Abbott on March 6, 2021.”
The Supreme Court has regulatory authority over the State Bar, which regulates lawyers.
