HOUSTON (AP) – A federal judge on Tuesday banned the U.S. government from imposing a 100-day deportation moratorium, which is President Joe Biden’s top immigration priority.
U.S. District Judge Drew Tipton issued a temporary restraining order seeking Texas, which is being sued Friday against a memorandum from the Department of Homeland Security instructing immigration agencies to interrupt most deportations. Tipton said the Biden government had failed to provide a concrete, reasonable justification for a 100-day break over deportations. ‘
Tipton’s order is an early blow to Biden’s government, which has proposed drastic changes called for by immigration lawyers, including a plan to legalize an estimated 11 million immigrants living in the U.S. illegally. During his campaign, Biden promised to interrupt most deportations for 100 days.
The order represents a victory for the Republican leaders of Texas, who have often sued to stop programs run by Biden’s Democratic predecessor, President Barack Obama. It has also shown that, just as democracies and immigration groups have fought former President Donald Trump in court successfully, so too have Republicans with Biden in office.
David Pekoske, the acting secretary of Homeland Security, signed a memorandum on Biden’s first day urging immigration officials to focus on national threats and public security threats, as well as anyone who enters the illegal entry into the United States after November 1. enter. It was a reversal of the Trump administration policy it made anyone in the US illegally a priority for deportation.
The 100-day moratorium went into effect Friday and applied to nearly everyone who entered the United States without permission before November.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has argued that the moratorium violates federal law, as well as an agreement that Texas signed with the Department of Homeland Security late in the Trump administration. Under the agreement, Homeland Security had to consult with Texas and other states before taking steps to reduce, redirect, re-prioritize, relax or change immigration in any way.
The administration of Biden argued in court that the agreement was not enforceable because an outgoing administration could not withdraw the power for an incoming government. “Meanwhile, Paxton’s office filed a Fox News advisory article proving that ‘refusal to remove illegal aliens directly leads to the immediate release of additional illegal aliens in Texas.’
Tipton, a nominee from Trump, wrote that his order is not based on the agreement between Texas and the Trump administration, but the federal law to preserve the “status quo” before the DHS moratorium.
Paxton has defended conservative and far-right cases in court, including a failed lawsuit that sought to overturn Biden’s victory over Trump, as he himself faces an FBI investigation into allegations by former assistants that he was running his office in abused service of a donor.
In response to the order, Paxton tweeted ‘VICTORY’ and described the deportation moratorium as a ‘rebellious left-wing uprising’, an apparent reference to the January 6 uprising in which Trump supporters stormed the Capitol. Five people were killed in the Capitol riots, including a Capitol police officer.
Kate Huddleston of the American Civil Liberties Union in Texas criticized Paxton, arguing that his lawsuit should not continue.
“The disruption of the administration is not only legal, but also necessary to ensure that families are not separated and that people are not unnecessarily endangered, while the new government is reviewing previous actions,” Huddleston said in a statement. statement said.