/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/dmn/ZUEIBUVQ4YK2GSNJY22RWLAFA4.jpg "U.S. sues Texas over Abbott’s order restricting transport of migrants")
The US Department of Justice filed a lawsuit Friday afternoon to halt an order from Texas Governor Greg Abbott to restrict the transport of migrants previously detained by federal immigration authorities.
The lawsuit, filed in the US District Court for the Western District in El Paso, is the latest in an escalating battle between Abbott and President Joe Biden’s administration. The Texas attorney general has filed five lawsuits against the Biden government – all immigration-related.
The lawsuit alleges that Abbott’s executive order violates the supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution, which states that federal law takes precedence over state law. It is also argued that the order violates those the United States is required to protect, “threatens the health and safety of non-nationals in federal custody, threatens the safety of federal law enforcement personnel and their families, and the spread of COVID-19 aggravated “. in our communities. “
The Justice Department is requesting an urgency request for an injunction. On Thursday, Attorney General Merrick Garland called Abbott’s order “both dangerous and illegal.”
Abbott, a Republican candidate for re-election, has accused the Biden administration of suspending Texas COVID-19 and “causing a public health disaster in Texas.”
Abbott’s order issued on Wednesday went into effect immediately. It ordered the State Department of Security to detain vehicles that migrated migrants were transported through US Customs and Border Protection after they were arrested.
The order stipulated that if the violation was confirmed, vehicles would be diverted to an exit point or port of entry.
The move was immediately criticized by lawyers and nonprofit immigration organizations as unconstitutional and could cause further devastation. More and more immigrants and asylum seekers have been arrested in recent months, particularly families and unaccompanied minors. The increase has continued over the past two months despite the summer heat, which traditionally brings with it a decline in migration.
Abbott quickly replied Friday afternoon that the Biden government had been “on the sidelines” on immigration issues. Abbott said he had the legal authority under “long-established emergency laws to control the movement of people to better contain the spread of a disaster known to be COVID-19.”
Abbott issued a written statement accusing the Biden administration of “causing a constitutional crisis between the federal government and the state of Texas.”
The federal lawsuit found that federal agencies rely on contractors to provide transportation for “non-nationals,” the term the federal government now uses to refer to immigrants and asylum seekers. In the Rio Grande Valley, the busiest for immigration investigations, Customs and Border Protection has deployed about 120,000 contractors so far this fiscal year to move about 120,000, the lawsuit said.
“Since CBP stations are only designed for short-term custody, it is important that CBP can transfer non-citizens out of CBP custody in good time and that CBP is dependent on contractors for these transfers,” the lawsuit said.
Non-citizens will be transferred to another federal immigration service, Immigration and Customs Enforcement or ICE, or in the case of unaccompanied migrant children, to health and social services. Other non-governmental organizations are offering COVID-19 testing, as well as safe housing and quarantine, the lawsuit said. They also put non-nationals on commercial buses to travel to destinations within the United States, the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit addresses specific concerns about these minors. It reads: “The executive ordinance transport restrictions will result in immediate backups of unaccompanied children both in CBP and in facilities of the Office of Refugee Resettlement, a health and social services agency.
Thursday was another big day for unaccompanied minors arrests with nearly 2,300 migrant minors in border patrol custody. CBP was under intense scrutiny when more than 5,000 minors were detained earlier this year over a surge in arrivals. Approximately 95,000 unaccompanied migrant minors were arrested by CBP this fiscal year through June. This number exceeds the record year 2019, in which, according to the federal government, 81,000 unaccompanied migrant minors were arrested.
This led to the creation of pop-up detention centers in cities like Dallas. The federal government referred to them as “emergency inflow” sites. These sites were not licensed by the state.
Earlier this week, Sister Norma Pimentel, who runs a recreation center for newly released migrants in McAllen, asked Abbott to reconsider his order because of the “dire consequences” it could have. Their accommodation will be expanded to a capacity of 1,500 people and migrants will be accommodated in other locations in the Rio Grande Valley, often with the coordination of Pimentel. Those who come to the recreation center run by Rio Grande Valley Catholic charities will be tested for COVID-19 in tents in downtown McAllen.
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