A Texas federal judge has issued a 14-day nationwide temporary restraining order on the 100-day pause on deportations policy in an attempt to challenge President Joe Biden’s administration’s immigration agenda.
Within hours of President Biden’s inauguration, the policy was issued. Now, the new order will remain in effect until Judge Drew B. Tipton, who was appointed by Donald Trump, decides on a larger motion for a preliminary injunction, NY Times reports.
In his ruling, Judge Tipton stated that “the suspension of deportations would violate a provision of the immigration statute as well as another law that required agencies to provide a rational explanation for their policy decisions.”
“The court’s order shows the uphill battle President Biden has in trying to reverse the prior administration’s immigration restrictions,” said Stephen Yale-Loehr, an immigration lawyer and a professor at Cornell Law School. “A single judge can halt a federal agency’s effort to review and reprioritize its immigration enforcement policies.”
According to the immigration law, individuals that receive final notices of removal from America must be deported within three months.
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas believed that the 100-day pause policy violated that condition. In the eyes of the court, the immigration law requirements should not be “neutered by the federal government’s broad discretion.”
The court also revealed that the policy violated another law that required agencies to show a “rational” and “logical” cause for their policy modifications.
Judge Tipton insisted that the Homeland Security Department did not correctly follow the Administrative Procedure Act due to its failure to “supply adequate justification for the temporary suspension of deportations,” N.Y. Times continued.
After the ruling, Republican Attorney General Paxton took to Twitter to claim victory for his party.
“Texas is the FIRST state in the nation to bring a lawsuit against the Biden Admin. AND WE WON,” wrote Paxton.
“Within 6 days of Biden’s inauguration, Texas has HALTED his illegal deportation freeze,” he continued. “This was a seditious left-wing insurrection. And my team and I stopped it.”
According to the Biden administration, the purpose of the 14-day pause was to give an internal review time.
“We’re confident that as the case proceeds, it will be clear that this measure was wholly appropriate in ordering a temporary pause to allow the agency to carefully review its policies, procedures, and enforcement priorities — while allowing for a greater focus on threats to public safety and national security,” a White House spokesman said.
“President Biden remains committed to taking immediate action to reform our immigration system to ensure it’s upholding American values while keeping our communities safe.”
