Texas has released a list of its 10 most wanted illegal immigrants, offering cash rewards for information that can lead to their arrest.
The list was crafted by the Greg Abbott administration and the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS). All of its member are of Latino origin and have been accused of crimes ranging from aggravated sexual assault of a child to murder with a deadly weapon. None of them have known gang affiliations and rewards go from $5,000 to $3,000.
In a press release accompanying the list, Governor Abbott said that the Joe Biden administration "dismantled every effective border policy his predecessor put into place," which resulted in "record high levels of illegal immigration, including dangerous criminals and terrorists who are a threat to the public safety of our state and our nation."
"Texas is a law-and-order state, and with the help of our fellow Texans, we will ensure that the illegal immigrants on this list are taken off our streets and put behind bars to keep our communities safe," the document added.
Authorities have highlighted that all tips are anonymous regardless of how they are submitted and they shouldn't attempt to apprehend the wanted people on their own.
The initiative is the latest of a series attempting to crack down on immigration to the state amid heightened tensions with the Biden administration over the issue. The Abbott administration has taken different steps to deter migrants from crossing into its territory, many of them at odds with the federal government.
The most salient one is SB4, a state law empowering local law enforcement to arrest and deport people who entered the state illegally, and which has been mirrored by many other Republican-led states. SB4 is currently on hold by a Court of Appeals following a challenge by the Department of Justice, which has taken similar measures regarding other such laws.
State authorities have also apprehended hundreds of migrants who rushed border gates during the past few months and charged them with rioting. A judge has dismissed the charges but state attorneys have pressed on, filing charges that led to indictments. Border sections have been thoroughly reinforced by local Border Patrol, with officials erecting concertina wires over large swaths of territory.
A group of migrant families also reported being fired upon with pepper balls by the Texas National Guard at the U.S.-Mexico border in El Paso last week, according to Border Report.
An unidentified Venezuelan man told the outlet two pepper balls struck him in the neck and side after he crossed the Rio Grande to plead with the soldiers to let families come across the razor wire.
Migrant encounters in El Paso, Texas, remained flat at around 30,000 in April, a contrast with the overall decrease reported at a national level.
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