Texas Judge Rules Abbott’s Border Crackdown Unconstitutional (1)

Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s border crackdown -- known as Operation Lone Star -- violates the U.S. Constitution and improperly intrudes on the federal government’s authority to set immigration policy, a Texas state judge ruled.

Judge Jan Soifer invalidated the Republican governor’s signature border policy in the case of an Ecuadorian engineer, Jesus Alberto Guzman Curipoma, according to two lawyers present at a hearing in Austin. The judge ruled from the bench and hasn’t yet issued a written decision.

While Soifer’s ruling applies only to Guzman Curipoma, Kristin Etter, an attorney with Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, which represents Guzman Curipoma ...