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HOUSTON (AP) – A federal judge on Tuesday barred the U.S. government from enforcing a moratorium on 100-day deportation, which is a key immigration priority for President Joe Biden.
U.S. District Judge Drew Tipton issued a temporary restraining order sought by Texas, which sued Friday against a note from the Department of Homeland Security that asked immigration agencies to suspend most deportations. Tipton said the Biden administration had “provided no concrete and reasonable justification for a 100-day break on evictions.”
Tipton’s order is a blow to the Biden administration, which has proposed sweeping changes sought by immigration advocates, including a plan to legalize an estimated 11 million immigrants living illegally in the United States. Biden promised during his campaign to issue the moratorium.
The order represents a victory for Republican leaders in Texas, who have often sued to stop the agendas adopted by Biden’s Democratic predecessor, President Barack Obama. He also showed that just as Democratic-led states and immigration groups fought former President Donald Trump in court, often successfully, so will Republicans with Biden in power.
David Pekoske, the Acting Secretary of Homeland Security, signed a memo on Biden’s first day asking immigration authorities to focus on threats to national security and public safety as well as anyone apprehended entering the United States illegally after November 1. It was a reversal of the policy of the Trump administration. that made everyone in the United States a priority for illegal deportation.
The 100-day moratorium went into effect on Friday and applied to almost everyone who entered the United States without permission before November.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton argued the moratorium violated federal law as well as an agreement Texas signed with the Department of Homeland Security late in the Trump administration. The deal required Homeland Security to consult with Texas and other states before taking action to “reduce, redirect, re-prioritize, relax or in any way change immigration enforcement.”
The Biden administration argued in court documents that the agreement is inapplicable because “an outgoing administration cannot outsource this power to a new administration.” Paxton’s office, meanwhile, submitted a Fox News opinion piece as evidence that “the refusal to remove illegal aliens leads directly to the immediate release of other illegal aliens in Texas.”
Tipton, appointed by Trump, wrote that his order was not based on the deal between Texas and the Trump administration, but on federal law aimed at preserving the “status quo” before the DHS moratorium.
Paxton has defended conservative and far-right causes in court, including an unsuccessful lawsuit aimed at overturning Biden’s victory over Trump, as he himself faces an FBI probe into allegations of former senior collaborators that he abused his office in the service of a donor.
In response to the order, Paxton tweeted “VICTORY” and described the deportation moratorium as a “seditious left-wing insurgency,” an apparent reference to the Jan. 6 uprising in which Trump supporters took over. storming the Capitol as Congress certifies Biden’s victory. The House has since impeached Trump for inciting siege. Five people died in the Capitol riot, including a Capitol police officer.
Kate Huddleston of the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas criticized Paxton and argued that his trial should not be allowed.
“The administration’s hiatus on evictions is not only legal but necessary to ensure families are not separated and people are not put at unnecessary risk while the new administration reviews past actions,” said Huddleston. in a press release.
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