Harris County is suing the Trump administration over funding tied to a clinic that provided free health care to illegal aliens.
While the clinic continues to provide free services to refugees, it has suspended services for people who entered the country illegally and stayed under Biden-era mass parole policies.
The program provided medical screenings to more than 11,000 aliens last year, according to Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee. He said that the county is seeking federal reimbursement for $1.25 million in services already provided and is on pace to need $6 million from taxpayers by the end of the year.
The Trump administration recently revoked parole status for people who entered using CBP One—a mobile app that allowed illegal aliens to create appointments to enter the country directly through ports of entry.
The app was recently renamed CBP Home and includes a self-deportation feature, giving illegal aliens the option to leave the United States of their own accord.
Harris County officials said at a press conference that the cut in funding threatens public health by reducing screenings that monitor for diseases.
Menefee said the county has asked the Trump administration when the funding would be released but has not received a response.
“You all know this is not the county’s first time having to engage with Republican leaders such as Gov. Greg Abbott or even President Donald Trump,” Menefee said.
“We are going to fight it out in the courts because it’s necessary,” he added.
Menefee recently joined litigation attempting to block the Trump administration’s ability to manage the size of the federal workforce. He also joined another lawsuit to overturn Trump’s order blocking citizenship for the children of illegal aliens.
Harris County Commissioner Lesley Briones said that the funding freeze was the equivalent of America turning its back on the Constitution, calling it “un-American.”
“I welcome you to the modern-day Ellis Island here in Gulfton,” said Briones.
According to the Migration Policy Institute, Harris County is home to an estimated half a million illegal aliens.
