A Trump Judge Has Blocked Biden’s Pause On Deportations And People Are Asking What’s Next?
Within hours of Biden’s temporary freeze of some deportations going into effect, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton requested a temporary restraining order against the Department of Homeland Security. He requested the court suspend President Biden’s 100-day deportation ban.
Now, thanks to a Trump-appointed federal judge it appears that his case against the Biden administration is working.
A federal judge has blocked Biden’s 100-day freeze on deportations.
Judge Drew Tipton, an appointee of Donald Trump, agreed with the Texas Attorney General that there was a chance the state would “suffer imminent and irreparable harm” if a temporary restraining order wasn’t granted. He also said the order won’t harm the defendants or the public, while adding that the Biden administration had failed “to provide any concrete, reasonable justification for a 100-day pause on deportations.” Tipton said the nationwide injunction is effective for 14 days, according to court documents.
The restraining order is an early blow to the Biden administration, which has proposed immediate changes to Trump’s cruel and inhumane immigration policies – including a plan to offer a path to citizenship for an estimated 11 million immigrants living in the U.S. without documentation.
Despite the setback, the Biden administration is expected to appeal the ruling, which halts the policy while both parties submit briefs on the matter.
Original Story Published January 22, 2021:
As soon as Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th President of the United States, many across the country were ready to hold him accountable for the many promises he made on the campaign trail. Knowing the immense pressure he is under to keep these promises, President Biden wasted no time in getting to work through a flurry of executive actions in his first day on the job.
From the Oval Office, President Biden issues no less than 15 executive actions that impact everything from Trump’s ‘Muslim Ban’ to LGBTQ discrimination and immigration reform.
President Biden has placed a hold on most deportations for the next 100 days.
The Department of Homeland Security announced that it would pause deportations of certain noncitizens for 100 days starting on January 22, delivering on one of President Joe Biden’s key campaign promises on immigration policy.
The agency said in a statement that the moratorium will allow it to “review and reset enforcement priorities” after the Trump administration sought to ensure that no undocumented immigrants — including families and longtime US residents — were safe from deportation.
“The pause will allow DHS to ensure that its resources are dedicated to responding to the most pressing challenges that the United States faces, including immediate operational challenges at the southwest border in the midst of the most serious global public health crisis in a century,” the agency said.
So, who will be safe from deportation for the next 100-days under President Biden’s moratorium?
The 100-day deportation suspension applies to any noncitizen living in the interior of the United States, with some limited exceptions, not to people who recently crossed the border. Terrorists and suspected terrorists as well as anyone who engages in espionage or poses a threat to national security can still be removed, according to the memo.
Also, noncitizens who entered the U.S. after Nov. 1 and people who volunteer to be removed can also be deported. The memo also says noncitizens can be removed if the director of ICE makes the determination they should be removed after consultation with other ICE officials.
The DHS memo also outlined who will be prioritized for deportation once the moratorium is over.
We’re also getting a better understanding of what will be President Biden’s enforcement priorities, which seem to reflect the president’s promises on the campaign trail that he would only deport people who have been convicted of a felony and explicitly not people with a DUI. Obama, by contrast, had deported immigrants with DUIs and minor offenses.
Most migrant advocacy groups praised the move even if they’re still raising lingering concerns.
It will give people fighting their deportation cases a chance to possibly remain in the U.S. and prevent more families from being separated while awaiting an overhaul of the immigration system including a legalization program for undocumented people that Biden has also promised, Sandra Solis, an organizer with the Phoenix-based Puente Movement, told AZ Central.
“This gives a small light at the end of the tunnel for folks of perhaps being able to fight their cases,” she said. “We are happy that right now there is a big pause but that is also where the organizing comes in where we have to put the agenda on the table of really getting more from this administration, not just the 100 days, but a pathway to citizenship.”
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