ACLU Comment on Texas Ruling Blocking Biden Deportation Pause
HOUSTON — A district court has granted a request by Texas to continue blocking the Biden administration’s 100-day pause on some deportations.
The court had previously halted the pause for 14 days, and then extended its order to 28 days.
Texas groups FIEL and RAICES, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union and ACLU of Texas, intervened in the case, State of Texas v. United States of America, to oppose any order further blocking the pause.
The following are reactions to Tuesday’s late-night preliminary injunction ruling by U.S. District Judge Drew Tipton:
Cody Wofsy, staff attorney with the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, said: “This ruling is legally wrong and will seriously harm families and communities around the country. Texas’ suit is an attempt to deprive the Biden administration of a meaningful opportunity to review and assess immigration enforcement after years of living under lawless Trump policies. We are reviewing our options.”
Kate Huddleston, attorney with the ACLU of Texas, said: “Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton continues to perpetuate harms against our immigrant communities and to seek to force the Biden administration to follow the xenophobic policies of former president Trump. Allowing these deportations to continue means that families will be torn apart and that people who have the opportunity to seek relief in the United States will be returned to danger. At the same time that Texans face a long recovery from a deadly winter storm, Paxton is inflicting yet another trauma on our communities by creating fear and uncertainty.”
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