On Tuesday, a Federal Judge instituted an indefinite ban on President Joe Biden’s administration from enforcing a moratorium on deportations.
What We Know:
- The ban was instituted by U.S. District Judge Drew Tipton, a Trump appointee. The ban on Biden’s efforts was sought by Texas lawmakers, who claimed the moratorium violated federal law. One of which was Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who filed a lawsuit against the federal government over the pause on deportations just three days into Biden’s appointment as President.
- Biden put forth the pause on deportation during his presidential campaign, promising to reform the many immigration policies instituted by his predecessor Donald Trump. On the day of Biden’s inauguration, the Department of Homeland Security released the moratorium, which was set to pause deportations for 100 days.
- In response, Judge Tipton ruled on January 26th that the moratorium overstepped federal regulations, adding that the United States could not sufficiently explain why the pause was justified. Tipton’s previous ruling was set to expire on Tuesday until later that evening, the judge ruled in favor of extending his previous order.
- Speaking to Politico, American Civil Liberties Union attorney Cody Wofsy stated, “this ruling is legally wrong and will seriously harm families and communities around the country. Texas’ suit is an attempt to deprive the Biden administration of a meaningful opportunity to review and assess immigration enforcement after years of living under lawless Trump policies.”
- The ban comes as a setback to the President’s efforts to undo Trump’s legacy and reform the nation’s immigration system. Biden has proposed a massive immigration bill that would provide citizenship for over ten million people living in the country.
- Biden’s Administration has, however, issued new guidelines for U.S. Immigration and Customs agents to follow; they are to focus on those immigrants who represent a public safety risk or a threat to national security. This represents a change in direction from the previous administration, who were much more aggressive in their enforcement of immigration policies.
In 2017, President Trump signed a travel ban on seven predominantly Muslim countries. Just as Democrats fought to stop that ban, opposition to Biden’s moratorium is an early sign of Republican pushback to the President’s immigration reform goals.
