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Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has accused President Joe Biden of triggering a “constitutional crisis” after being sued over his order ordering state soldiers to park vehicles suspected of containing human beings. papers.
The Justice Department filed a lawsuit against Texas on Friday over Abbott’s executive order. Within hours, Abbott issued a statement insisting his order was aimed at protecting public health amid the COVID-19 pandemic while vowing he had “no intention of abdicating” his “responsibility. to protect the people of Texas “.
“The Biden administration has created a constitutional crisis between the federal government and the state of Texas,” Abbott said. “This stems from the Biden administration’s refusal to enforce immigration laws and allow illegal immigrants with COVID-19 to enter our country.”
Abbott alleged that the administration was “knowingly importing COVID-19 into Texas across the border,” while maintaining that the president “had abdicated his authority” to “protect and maintain our nation’s sovereignty.”
“Until President Biden and his administration do their job to uphold the laws of our nation and protect Americans, the State of Texas will continue to mobilize to protect our communities and uphold the rule of law.” Abbott continued.
When issuing his order on Wednesday, Abbott said that “the dramatic increase in illegal border crossings has also led to a dramatic increase in COVID-19 cases among illegal migrants who have surrendered” to Texas.
Tamir Kalifa / Getty
The text of the order repeatedly denounces Biden’s actions and praises former President Donald Trump for taking “steps to protect Americans from COVID-19 by swiftly deporting migrants who could carry the disease across the border “.
Attorney General Merrick Garland sent a letter to Abbott on Thursday, saying the governor’s order “violates federal law in many ways.” Garland threatened to take legal action “to make sure Texas does not interfere with federal government functions” if Abbott does not withdraw the order.
Abbott responded in a letter Friday, telling Garland his ordinance does not interfere with the federal government and warning that “the arguments in your letter” indicate “that the state of Texas and the federal government are facing a constitutional crisis. “.
The lawsuit filed shortly thereafter claims that Abbott’s order “is preempted by federal law”, explaining that it “violates the supremacy clause and the doctrine of intergovernmental immunity, and is therefore invalid, void and non-avenue “.
“States do not have the power to interfere with the ‘broad and indisputable power of the United States on the subject of immigration’ by preventing the release of individuals by the United States and the ability of those individuals to comply with federal immigration law, ”the complaint said.
As in most states, cases of COVID-19 have increased in Texas. However, there does not appear to be any evidence showing that migrants are behind the increase in cases.
While cases are not increasing as much in Texas as in some other states, the state is in the bottom third in terms of the percentage of residents fully vaccinated against the virus, at around 44% of the population.
In total, more than 53,000 deaths from COVID-19 in Texas recently eclipsed the toll in New York, where 57% of residents are fully vaccinated, although the Empire State has recorded 29,000 more deaths than the Lone Star State last summer.
Regardless of the increase in cases and deaths, Abbott issued an order on Friday that barred local authorities from imposing mask warrants or vaccine requirements.
News week contacted the Justice Department for comment.
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