Efforts by the Biden government to impose a 100-day pause on the deportations of illegal immigrants suffered another blow on Tuesday when a district judge extended the ban on their imposition in response to a Texas lawsuit.
U.S. District Judge Drew Tipton has indefinitely banned the January 20 memorandum from implementing a 100-day moratorium on most deportations.
ICE OFFICIALS WILL NEED PRE-APPROVAL BEFORE ATTACHING SOME ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS UNDER THE NEW RULES
Tipton had already issued a two-week restraining order on the policy after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton argued that it violated federal law and an agreement with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for Texas to be consulted before such a move.
Biden campaigned on the 100-day break as part of a broad immigration agenda that includes a halt to the construction of the border wall, the end of the Protocols for the Protection of Migrants (MPP) and a path to citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants.
The broad “pause” would have exceptions. This would exclude those who, according to a written conclusion from the head of the Department of Immigration and Customs (ICE), have been involved in terrorism or espionage or who pose a danger to national security. It would also exclude those who were not present in the U.S. prior to November 1, 2020, those who agreed to waive the right to stay and those that the ICE director determined individually that needs to be removed by law.
ACLU LINKS BIDEN’S GUIDANCE ON ICE MATCHES, ‘DISAPPOINTING STEP BACK’ DEPORTATIONS
But Texas argued that the guideline violates the constitution and federal laws, as well as a contractual agreement between Texas and DHS signed in the last days of the Trump administration that the state would be consulted before curbing immigration or halting deportations.
The agreement means that DHS must notify Texas 180 days in advance of any proposed changes in any matter that would reduce enforcement or increase the number of “removable or inadmissible aliens” in the U.S. Paxton says the agreement has been violated.
“Our state defends the largest section of the country’s southern border. Failure to apply the law properly will directly and immediately put our citizens and police at risk,” Paxton said in a statement last month, announcing the process.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPLICATION
Since then, the government has issued guidelines to ICE agents, informing them that they will need managers’ pre-approval to arrest some illegal immigrants if they do not fall into categories similar to those that were also exempt from deportation freezes.
Guidance is temporary, lasting three months, until DHS can issue further guidance. Authorities said the guidance does not explicitly prevent anyone from being arrested or deported. Instead, it directs resources to certain destinations.
Griff Jenkins of Fox News and The Associated Press contributed to this report.