Illegal immigrants arriving at the Mexican border from Central America on April 29, 2018.
U.S. District Judge Drew Tipton on Tuesday night (Feb. 23) issued a preliminary injunction sought by Texas that indefinitely bars the Biden administration’s order suspending deportations of illegal immigrants for 100 days. The judge said the move not only violates federal law, but also costs the state of Texas additional money.
Tipton, a judge appointed during the Trump (R-Texas) presidency, initially ruled on Jan. 26 to temporarily call off Biden’s order to halt deportations of illegal immigrants, saying the order violated federal administrative procedure law and failed to demonstrate why suspending deportations was a reasonable approach. That temporary restraining order expired on Tuesday of this week.
Tipton then agreed to a preliminary injunction that would indefinitely enjoin Biden’s stop-deportation order nationwide until the case is resolved or until a federal court, such as an appeals court, issues a further order, which would remain in effect.
Tipton said Tuesday that the argument that Texas will incur increased fiscal costs by forcing the retention of illegal immigrants who would otherwise be deported, as well as unaccompanied children in need of public Education, is sound.
“The court finds that Texas has demonstrated by a preponderance of the evidence that it could reasonably anticipate that the 100-day moratorium (on deportations) would result in a large number of criminal aliens and unaccompanied children entering Texas and moving freely through the state.” He wrote in the 105-page ruling.
“The 100-day suspension will result in a significant number of criminal aliens moving freely within Texas and into the state. …… Criminal aliens and in-state offenders have a clear propensity for recidivism. As a result, the 100-day moratorium (deportation order) will impose unintended detention facility costs on Texas.”
The lawsuit began with a Jan. 20 memo issued by Acting DHS Secretary David Pekoske on Biden’s inauguration day. In it, Pekoske instructed his subordinates to “immediately suspend deportation of any non-citizen with a final order of deportation …… for 100 days.”
On Jan. 21, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a warning that the DHS decision was illegal.
On Jan. 22, Paxton formally sued the Biden Administration in federal court, alleging that the moratorium violated an agreement between the state and the federal government during the Trump Administration and that the Department of Homeland Security had a duty to facilitate the deportation of illegal immigrants.
Biden had campaigned on a promise to “suspend deportations of illegal immigrants for 100 days” and implement a massive review of U.S. immigration enforcement regulations in an attempt to reverse the hard-line stance the United States has taken on immigration during the Trump presidency.
Biden introduced a new immigration bill last week that would provide a way for the 11 million immigrants living in the U.S. illegally to become legal residents, most of whom, if they pass a background check and pay taxes, would be able to live and work legally in the U.S. for five years, after which they could apply for a green card and thus be granted permanent residency and then, after three more years, the opportunity to obtain citizenship.
In addition, he established other guidelines to dictate who immigration and border agents should target for enforcement.
According to the administration, there are currently about 6,000 non-citizens in detention nationwide who have received final deportation orders. A White House spokesman had claimed in January that the DHS memo did not violate federal law and alleged that Texas lacked standing to rescind the directive.
It is unknown at this Time whether the Biden administration will appeal. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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