U.S. District Judge Issues Injunction Against Biden Administration Order to Stop Deportations

U.S. District Judge Drew Tipton, Southern District of Texas, has blocked a Biden executive action which was intended to pause deportations for 100 days.  “This preliminary injunction is granted on a nationwide basis and prohibits enforcement and implementation of the [100-day pause] in every place Defendants have jurisdiction to enforce and implement the January 20 Memorandum,” Tipton wrote.

The lawsuit was brought by the state of Texas who argued the Biden executive action to stop deportation was creating an undue financial burden on the state, and the order violated administrative procedures and laws for the role of deportation in enforcement.

TEXAS – […] The order represents a setback to Biden’s immigration agenda, which is largely focused on undoing Trump’s immigration legacy and securing an overhaul to the U.S. immigration system.

Tipton found that Texas had proved the 100-day deportation pause would threaten the state with financial harm — and that the moratorium, as rolled out, violated administrative laws and procedures.

“[T]he core failure of DHS lies not in the brevity of the January 20 Memorandum or the corresponding administrative record, but instead in its omission of a rational explanation grounded in the facts reviewed and the factors considered,” Tipton wrote. “This failure is fatal, as this defect essentially makes DHS’s determination to institute a 100-day pause on deportations an arbitrary and capricious choice.”

The preliminary injunction applies to the entire country, not just Texas. It will remain in place as the case moves forward or until there’s a new order from a higher court.  (read more)

Finally some common sense from the judicial branch. Tipton’s ruling does not require deportations to resume at their previous pace. Even without a moratorium, immigration agencies have wide latitude in enforcing removals and processing cases.