AG Paxton Threatens To Sue Over Biden Administration's "Pause" Of Illegal Alien Deportations

[#TexasPolitics365] 

As expected, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is wasting no time in issuing legal challenges to policies coming from the Biden Administration.

Yesterday, Paxton put the Department of Homeland Security on notice for allegedly breaching agreements it had with the state of Texas by implementing a 100-day freeze on deporting nearly all illegal aliens. 

The agency says it is taking the action to review policy in the new Biden Administration.

But in a letter to acting DHS Secretary David Pekoske, Paxton called it a "complete abdication of the Department of Homeland Security’s obligation to enforce federal immigration law," and said it was, "unlawful and will seriously and irreparably harm the State of Texas and its citizens."

Pekosky's January 20th memorandum  (opens PDF) directed the DHS to impose “an immediate pause on removals of any noncitizen with a final order of removal for 100 days to go into effect as soon as practical and no later than January 22, 2021.” The memo listed several exceptions to the pause in deportations, among them National Security concerns and terrorism.

It also stated that the 100-day pause on certain removals would, "enable focusing the Department’s resources where they are most needed. The United States faces significant operational challenges at the southwest border as it is confronting the most serious global public health crisis in a century."

In response, Paxton argued that if this directive was left unchallenged, "DHS could attempt to renew that directive indefinitely or issue a similar directive for an even longer period of time. That would allow the Biden Administration to grant blanket amnesty to the vast majority of the illegal aliens in this country with the stroke of a pen and without congressional approval."

Texas has agreed to cooperate with the federal government in its execution of immigration enforcement. Paxton said DHS's pause in deportations, "violates our Agreement in multiple ways," among them being the failure to consult with Texas State officials.

Paxton ends his letter by threatening to take the Federal government to court to stop the pause with an injunction.

"We require an immediate response or we will seek relief to enjoin your order," he writes.

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