Greg Abbott
Photographer: Alex Wong / Getty Images
Photographer: Alex Wong / Getty Images
The Department of Homeland Security, 12 days before President Joe Biden was sworn in, struck a ‘binding’ deal with Texas and agreed to consult with the state for 180 days before changing immigration policy, putting it in the hands of the new government. fact bond.
That January 8 agreement between Texas Governor Greg Abbott and then Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Kenneth Cuccinelli is central to the first major lawsuit against the Biden government.
On Friday, the state accused the federal government of violating the deal by scheduling a 100-day hiatus on deportations without first giving Texas a chance to object.
“Texas is facing irreparable damage as it must provide valuable education, social, welfare, health care and other services to illegal aliens who remain in Texas because defendants have stopped removing them,” said the attorney general of Texas. Texas, Ken Paxton in the state’s application.
US District Judge Drew Tipton in Victoria, Texas, heard arguments Friday over Paxton’s request for a temporary restraining order against the plan as the case continues. Tipton, a Donald Trump appointee, said he would soon rule.
The Justice Department alleges that the state is trying to usurp the federal government’s authority over immigration in its last-ditch deal with the Trump administration. Later Friday, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a brief party with the Biden administration, calling Texas’s attempt an illegal attempt to block the government’s exercise of its discretion in the removal of immigrants.
‘Very problematic’
“Approving this agreement would set a very problematic precedent,” the ACLU said in its friend-of-the-court letter. “If an outgoing DHS official can sign the following records make policy authority for six months, why not for four years? Or eight? “
The rights organization said giving credence to the agreement, even temporarily, would pave the way for similar last-minute deals between agencies and states – or even outside parties – if presidents leave.
“Our constitution provides for presidential elections to be held every four years and for executive power to be handed over shortly thereafter,” the ACLU said. “But according to Texas, an outgoing government never needs to provide power as long as it finds a willing contractor to document its policy preferences.”
Texas said in its motion for a restraining order that his deal with the Trump administration was “mutually beneficial” and was reached to promote “cooperation and coordination.” The state states that due to its long border with Mexico, it has unique exposure to immigration issues and therefore deserves input on immigration changes.
The Ministry of Justice calls it inadmissible right of veto.