Houston – A federal judge indefinitely banned President Joe Biden’s government from enforcing a 100-day moratorium on most deportations late Tuesday at the end of Tuesday. US District Judge Drew Tipton issued a preliminary injunction filed by Texas, arguing that the moratorium violated federal law and ran the risk of imposing additional charges on the state.
Mr. Biden suggested the 100-day break for deportations during his campaign as part of a larger overhaul of immigration enforcement and an attempt to reverse former President Donald Trump’s priorities.
Mr. Biden has proposed a sweeping immigration law that will allow the legalization of an estimated 11 million people living illegally in the US. He’s also outlined other guidelines on who immigration and border agents should target for enforcement.
Tipton, a Trump-appointed person, initially ruled on Jan. 26 that the moratorium violated federal law on administrative procedures and that the US could not demonstrate why a deportation break was warranted. A temporary restraining order from the judge was due to expire on Tuesday.
Tipton’s ruling did not require deportations to resume at their previous pace. Even without a moratorium, immigration offices have wide latitude in enforcing removal and treatment cases.
But in the days following his ruling, authorities deported 15 people to Jamaica and hundreds of others to Central America. The Biden administration has also continued to expel immigrants under a separate trial initiated by Trump officials, who are relying on public health law over the coronavirus pandemic.
Texas American Civil Liberties Union attorney Kate Huddleston reacted angrily to the latest ruling, saying in a statement thatTexas Attorney General Ken Paxton continues to … try to force the Biden administration to follow former President Trump’s xenophobic policies. Allowing these deportations to continue will tear families apart and endanger those who have the opportunity to seek help in the United States. “
The legal battle over the deportation ban is an early sign of Republican backlash against Mr Biden’s immigration priorities, just as Democrats and pro-immigrant rights groups have contested Mr Trump’s proposals. Nearly four years before Tipton’s order, Trump signed a travel ban from seven countries with predominantly Muslim populations causing chaos in airports. Legal groups have successfully filed a lawsuit to stop implementation of the ban.
It was not immediately clear whether the Biden government would appeal Tipton’s latest ruling. The Justice Department has not requested a suspension of Tipton’s previous temporary restraining order.