Through a small Zoom square from inside a Texas prison, nine immigrants in orange jumpsuits appeared for the first court hearings Wednesday under Gov. Greg Abbott’s new directive for state troopers to arrest people crossing the U.S.-Mexico border and jail them for state crimes.
Over three hours, each of the men — all from Venezuela — pleaded guilty to trespassing on private property in Del Rio last month. Each was given a sentence of 15 days in jail for the misdemeanor offense, which they have already served in the Briscoe Unit, a prison recently converted into a state-run jail for migrants at the governor’s order.