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Migrants arrested as part of Operation Lone Star transferred to Edinburg prison

2 years 6 months 1 week ago Tuesday, October 12 2021 Oct 12, 2021 October 12, 2021 11:33 PM October 12, 2021 in News - Local

Civil rights advocates say some migrants arrested as part of Operation Lone Star are being held at an Edinburg prison, many without lawyers or charges.

One civil rights attorney says many migrants are being denied their constitutional rights.

Chief Defender Attorney at Restoring Justice, Amrutha Jindal, says migrants' rights are being violated, adding that the law says charges must be filed against a person in custody within 15 to 30 days. Yet, some of her clients have waited longer than that while others are still waiting.

READ ALSO: Arrested migrants sent to state prisons  

"What we saw is that half our clients were arrested in early August," Jindal said. "Being processed by Kinney County officials, but they weren't actually appointed a lawyer until the middle of September. On top of that, some of them don't have formal charges filed against them."

Hidalgo County District Attorney Ricardo Rodriguez says the county has received migrants from Kinney County due to overcapacity. "They were not arrested here in Hidalgo County," Rodriguez said. "They are being transferred over from another county where they were arrested."

A representative for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice says any charges against the migrants at the Segovia Unit in Edinburg are in the hands of Kinney County District Attorney Suzanne West.

West declined a request for an interview with Channel 5.

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