[ad_1]
Texas today took steps to prevent Joe Biden from allowing a 100-day moratorium on deportations, sparking one of the first lawsuits against his new administration.
Rushing to appear in court not even a week after Biden was sworn in, America’s largest red state signaled that it was ready to resume the role of main antagonist to a Democratic president’s immigration agenda, after four years of supporting Donald Trump’s hardline policies throughout the Mexico-United States border.
The federal lawsuit seeks to stop the moratorium on deportation “for certain non-citizens” that was to begin today.
Biden has already signed a series of executive orders, including one that revoked Trump’s mandate that made anyone in the United States illegally a priority for deportation.
Texas claims the moratorium violates an agreement, signed in the final weeks of Trump’s presidency, which required the federal government to make changes to immigration law enforcement beyond the state first, The Associated Press reports.
Legal scholars, however, have questioned whether the agreement could allow states to halt the policies of the Biden administration.
BuzzFeed News first reported that the Trump administration signed similar agreements with Republican leaders in several states.
“Failure to properly enforce the law will directly and immediately endanger our citizens and law enforcement personnel,” said Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately react to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit was filed with Trump-appointed US District Judge Drew Tipton in the Southern District of Texas.
Since taking office Wednesday, Biden has gone to great lengths to show far-reaching intentions on immigration that would dismantle many of Trump’s crackdowns. His first steps included stopping the construction of a border wall with Mexico and lifting the travel ban on people from several predominantly Muslim countries.
Biden also says he will push to grant legal status and a path to citizenship to anyone in the United States by January 1, roughly 11 million people.
Texas shares more than 1,200 miles of border with Mexico, which, according to the state’s Republican leaders, makes them particularly interested in the country’s immigration policies.
Filing one of the first lawsuits against the Biden administration, Paxton is eager to be seen as an advocate for Republicans not only when Democrats claim power in Washington, but his own career is under dark clouds.
The FBI is investigating Paxton, who was a loyal Trump ally, on allegations by top former aides that he abused his office in the service of a donor.
On the other hand, Paxton has been pleased not to be guilty in state court of felony charges of defrauding an investor in a case that has dragged on for five years.
