As newly sworn-in President Joe Biden is already signing harmful executive orders, the Texas attorney general is already making good on his promise to confront Biden’s “lawlessness.”
On Friday, Attorney General Ken Paxton announced he is suing the Biden administration for trying to violate federal immigration law.
“[Paxton] today filed a complaint and motion for temporary restraining order in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, asking the Court to immediately halt the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) freeze on deportations of illegal aliens,” read a Paxton press release.
“On its first day in office, the Biden Administration cast aside congressionally enacted immigration laws and suspended the removal of illegal aliens whose removal is compelled by those very laws,” Paxton continued. “The move violates the U.S. Constitution, federal immigration and administrative law, and a contractual agreement between Texas and DHS.”
“Last night, Attorney General Paxton issued a letter warning that the Administration’s actions resulted in an abdication of DHS’s obligation to enforce federal immigration law, which would seriously and irreparably harm Texas and its citizens.”
Paxton’s lawsuit comes just two days after he tweeted a statement during Biden’s inauguration, promising to challenge the “many unconstitutional and illegal actions the administration will take.”
Biden’s first day in the Oval Office included signing a slew of 17 executive orders, several of which overturned Trump policies. Among other actions, Biden stopped federal funding for the border wall construction, dragged the United States back into the controversial Paris climate accord, and canceled the Keystone XL Pipeline.
Biden is also promising to remove Trump’s increased protections for preborn babies and force citizens to pay for abortions with tax dollars.
Paxton called Biden’s latest action “unlawful and perilous.”
“In one of its first of dozens of steps that harm Texas and the nation as a whole, the Biden administration directed DHS to violate federal immigration law and breach an agreement to consult and cooperate with Texas on that law,” Paxton said. “Our state defends the largest section of the southern border in the nation. Failure to properly enforce the law will directly and immediately endanger our citizens and law enforcement personnel.”
“DHS itself has previously acknowledged that such a freeze on deportations will cause concrete injuries to Texas,” he concluded. “I am confident that these unlawful and perilous actions cannot stand. The rule of law and security of our citizens must prevail.”
