Gov. Greg Abbott’s border security push, dubbed Operation Lone Star, has remained in the headlines for months. Now, following the death of Specialist Bishop Evans, a Texas Army National Guard member who died last month trying to rescue drowning migrants, the Texas Military Department is discouraging its service members from engaging in water rescues.
“That has raised concerns from both immigrant’s rights activists and service members, supporters outside the [Texas] Legislature and even within the Legislature,” says James Barragán, Tribune political reporter who broke the story in partnership with the Military Times. “Because these folks are trained to help people, that’s why they join the military. So if you’re asking them not to intervene in a life-threatening situation, that’s not really what they’re there to do.”
For more stories from the week in Texas politics, including the political and even educational ramifications of this week’s leaked Supreme Court draft decision to ultimately strike down Roe v. Wade, listen to the interview in the audio player above.
