Texas Matters: The border and Abbott at the RNC

In this heated and tight race for the White House this week’s Republican National Convention was in many ways a celebration of their nominee, Donald Trump.

Since that infamous ride down the escalator, Trump has made the border a central issue to excite his base, and in 2024 at the RNC there were fewer crowd chants of “Build That Wall” and more chants of “Send them back” while they waved signs that read “Deport them all.”

And Texas was in the middle of it. There are three Texas Republican politicians who took the stage over the week to push their narrative—Senator Ted Cruz, Representative Monica De La Cruz and Governor Greg Abbott.

In recent months the issue of the border has diminished as President Biden’s efforts there have paid off and greatly reduced unauthorized border crossings. But you wouldn’t know that by listening to the speech Abbott delivered to the GOP delegates.

Of course, this was his opportunity to provide his political border narrative without being constrained by the facts.

Sarah Cruz is with the ACLU of Texas and was an author of their May report critical of Abbott’s Operation Lone Star. The report titled “Operation Lone Star: Misinformation and Discrimination in Texas Border Enforcement”

According to the ACLU of Texas, Operation Lone Star is an unconstitutional operation that is primarily racially profiling and arresting people who pose no threat to public safety, then forcing them into a separate and unequal criminal legal system.

Cruz said Abbott and much of the GOP Convention was heavily focused on immigration and border security but in a way that is not rooted in what is actually happening on the border.