Three retired judges who have been overseeing the cases of a number of migrants arrested under extremist Greg Abbott’s Operation Lone Star scheme were dismissed last week, The Texas Tribune reports. What did all three state-appointed judges have in common? They’ve “often agreed” to allow detained men to be released on bail.

The report says that Tully Shahan, the Kinney County judge who fired the three, “has not allowed migrants to be released on no-cost bonds after they plead not guilty in his court.” Shahan then replaced the three with five judges of his own choosing. “My guess is he’s friends with these folks,” presiding Administrative Judge Stephen Ables told The Texas Tribune. Ables had appointed the three judges removed by Shahan. Advocates now fear migrants may see even more prolonged state detention.

The Texas Tribune reports that Texas RioGrande Legal Aid “pointed to the legal aid group’s recent request for all of its remaining 153 clients in prison to be released on no-cost bonds because the men have been in prison for months without a court date. The visiting judges were expected to hear many of the cases as Shahan was out of the office after testing positive for the coronavirus.”

Oh right, about that very last part: The outlet had reported late last month that over 90 men in custody on trespassing charges saw their court dates get axed after Shahan tested positive for the virus. Roughly a third of them had already been detained for as long as three months, and were given no word on when their hearings would be rescheduled. With the three visiting judges out and Shahan’s reported pals in, these men can expect continued state detention.

“This is clearly retaliation against the judges who have been releasing hundreds of people and dismissing deficient cases under Operation Lone Star and is a threat to the rule of law,” Texas Fair Defense Project Executive Director Amanda Woog told The Texas Tribune.

Human Rights Watch last month called on the Justice Department to intervene and “act swiftly” to halt Abbott’s scheme, with organization leaders saying the policy “has led to serious due process and civil rights abuses, made a mockery of the Texas judicial system, and fomented dangerous xenophobia.”

Often lost amid Operation Lone Star discussions have been the alleged connections between local officials and racist militia groups. One of these groups, Patriots for America, “has claimed it is coordinating with law enforcement,” Human Rights Watch said.

While the Texas Department of Public Safety has pushed back on associations with these extremist groups, both Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick continue to use the same “invasion” rhetoric echoed in past white supremacist terrorism. “Abbott said Wednesday that ‘homes are being invaded,’” The Texas Tribune reported in June. “We are being invaded,” Patrick said. 

Why the Biden administration has not yet publicly intervened is not clear. The Justice Department was this past summer successful in temporarily halting another Abbott order targeting migrants being transported by both civilian drivers and contractors. 

“Because of Abbott’s EO restricting transporting migrants, people are afraid to help migrant families. The local shelter wouldn’t take people in because they could not help them get out,” Texas Fair Defense Project initially tweeted about Abbott’s order. “So instead of dropping people off at the shelter like they usually do, [Customs and Border Protection] dropped families off at a local gas station. Pregnant people, children, and others were stranded with no place to go.”

That policy for now is halted. But Abbott has clearly moved on to a newer anti-immigrant scheme.