El Paso Rep. Veronica Escobar leads a dozen members of Texas’ Congressional delegation in calling on the state’s military department inspector general to open a probe into right-wing Gov. Greg Abbott’s border scheme. Operation Lone Star, which has swept up thousands of asylum-seekers since early last year, has in recent months been plagued by a number of tragic military deaths.

“The letter comes as another service member, based in the city of Pharr, survived a suicide attempt Sunday, according to an incident report obtained by Army Times and The Texas Tribune,” the two outlets reported last week.

“It is clear there are many reasons to be concerned for servicemembers supporting this mission, including the growing number of confirmed deaths by suicide that have occurred to troops on orders supporting OLS,” lawmakers wrote to the Texas Military Department (TMD) inspector general (click here for a full list of signatories). Lawmakers note that one soldier who expressed suicidal ideations had his arms taken away—only to be rearmed and sent back out less than a day later. Lawmakers say the “brewing mental health crisis” is worsened by the fact that Texas soldiers can carry their personal weapons while on duty.

They further note that soldiers have been pulled from families and opportunities with just a few days’ notice, only to be faced with everything from “chronic underpayment issues” to lack of proper equipment and sleeping facilities.

Lawmakers write there’s also concern about the orders being given to soldiers on the ground, following photographic evidence of servicemembers trespassing on private property. The Texas Tribune has previously reported how asylum-seekers and migrants swept up under the scheme have been forced to private property, then arrested for trespassing. 

“When National Guardsmen are deployed on state active-duty orders, their well-being is entrusted to the state,” lawmakers tell TMD Inspector General Colonel Daniel Heape. “However, it is clear State leadership does not have our troops’ best interest in mind. Instead, they continue to use them as political props, whether it be through assigning them to support OLS or by refusing to comply with federal vaccine requirements intended to protect them from COVID-19.”

“As such, we urge you to launch a full investigation into TMD’s actions related to OLS and how this mission impacts the well-being, morale, and overall readiness of our troops so Texans can have a full accounting of what is happening to these servicemembers.”

The truly reprehensible Greg Abbott has not given one shit about the hundreds of asylum-seekers and migrants he’s kept locked up for weeks at a time without any charges. But he has been defensive when confronted about the string of military deaths, instead complaining about the president. “Abbott is shrugging off the deaths of five Guardsmen as he continues to denigrate the service of all Guard members by asking them to perform as the backdrop for his political photo-ops,” challenger Beto O’Rourke responded in a statement reported by The Texas Tribune. 

“The egregious abuses of our National Guard by ⁦@GovAbbott are all part of a political stunt intended to help his re-election,” Escobar said in a tweet. “Abbot’s repeated failures make service members and all Texans unsafe.”