Yesterday, Texas Attorney General, Ken Paxton, filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration regarding the memo sent to DHS about halting deportations of illegal aliens.
The suit, filed in Federal District Court stated, “On its first day in office, the Biden Administration cast aside congressionally enacted immigration laws and suspended the removal of illegal aliens whose removal is compelled by those very laws. In doing so, it ignored basic constitutional principles and violated its written pledge to work cooperatively with the State of Texas to address shared immigration enforcement concerns,”
The lawsuit revolves around David Pekoske’s memo he issued on Biden’s first day that directed DHS to put “an immediate pause on removals of any noncitizen with a final order of removal (except as noted below) for 100 days.” Pekoske is Biden’s newly-installed DHS Secretary.
In regards to grounds for the suit, Paxton stated “This unlawful reversal will cause Texas immediate and irreparable harm if it is not enjoined.” In addition, DHS failed to notify Texas of these changes, which may cause harm to the state.
In a statement released by Paxton, he accuses DHS is violating federal immigration law, as well as breaching an agreement to consult with Texas officials regarding any changes to immigration policy.
“In one of its first of dozens of steps that harm Texas and the nation as a whole, the Biden administration directed DHS to violate federal immigration law and breach an agreement to consult and cooperate with Texas on that law. Our state defends the largest section of the southern border in the nation. Failure to properly enforce the law will directly and immediately endanger our citizens and law enforcement personnel.”
Paxton ended his statement by saying, “DHS itself has previously acknowledged that such a freeze on deportations will cause concrete injuries to Texas. I am confident that these unlawful and perilous actions cannot stand. The rule of law and security of our citizens must prevail.”
