From [HERE] Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s effort to use state law enforcement to enforce immigration law by arresting migrants for trespassing is overwhelming local courts and resulting in few convictions.

Just 3% of the about 1,500 people arrested on misdemeanor trespassing charges since July as part of what Mr. Abbott calls Operation Lone Star have been convicted, all via guilty pleas, according to court records.

Most of the rest are waiting weeks or months in jail for their cases to be processed.

As of Nov. 1, some 1,006 migrants were jailed under the initiative. The state has focused resources for Operation Lone Star in two border counties, Kinney and Val Verde. Of them, 53% have been there longer than 30 days and 14% longer than 60 days, according to court records. Two men from Cuba were in jail 98 days after they were arrested.

It is unusual for people arrested on misdemeanor charges in Texas to stay in jail for more than a few days, according to defense attorneys and prosecutors. Single men from Honduras or Mexico—a category that includes most of the Operation Lone Star arrestees—are usually deported in a day or two when caught by the Border Patrol. Only the federal government has the authority to deport foreigners. Some men jailed under Operation Lone Star end up being released in the U.S. while they pursue immigration cases, lawyers for the migrants said.

A spokeswoman for Mr. Abbott said the Republican governor “initiated a new policy of arrest and jail—instead of President Biden’s catch and release program—to stop this revolving door and deter others considering entering illegally.”

Mr. Abbott announced the effort last spring, as the number of illegal border crossings started to soar. He has taken an aggressive stance in wanting to jail migrants, including requesting permission from city officials in Del Rio to arrest as many as 16,000 Haitians who formed a makeshift camp under a city-owned bridge in September, Mayor Bruno Lozano said.

Del Rio officials declined, saying the Border Patrol was already handling the situation, according to Mr. Lozano.

The Texas National Guard, which is controlled by the governor, is working in tandem with state troopers on the border. Other states have deployed National Guard troops to the border in the past, but they generally have helped federal authorities with tasks including vehicle maintenance and monitoring surveillance cameras. Texas is the first to implement a strategy of arresting illegal border crossers on trespassing charges. It has deployed thousands of troopers and guard troops in the effort. [MORE]