The anti-immigrant judicial pipeline keeps gushing. A right-wing judge appointed by the previous administration has voided Biden administration guidelines instructing federal immigration officials to prioritize individuals who represent a threat to public safety.
There is no logic in this case; it’s yet another Republican-led lawsuit meant to sabotage the administration on immigration policy. The suit was led by Louisiana attorney general Jeff Landry and corrupt Texas attorney general Ken Paxton, who has evaded trial on felony securities fraud charges for years. But when it comes to immigration, he can’t get enough of court.
The judge in the case, who was appointed by the previous administration, issued his first immigration ruling against President Joe Biden just days after he took office.
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American Immigration Council senior policy counsel Aaron Reichlin-Melnick writes Judge Drew Tipton’s ruling “nearly eliminates” the Department of Homeland Security’s ability “to deprioritize certain immigrants for deportation.” He said the ruling “relies on Trump-era immigration reports written by Stephen Miller et. al to suggest immigrants are all dangerous.” America First Legal Foundation, a right-wing group founded by the noted white supremacist, cheered the ruling.
Tipton halted the president’s 100-day moratorium on most deportations in early 2021, following a lawsuit from Paxton. “Tipton also tried to block an earlier version of DHS's enforcement guidance last summer, but that order was stayed on appeal,” NPR reports.
“If the [DHS Secretary Alejandro] Mayorkas admin priorities are gone as of next Friday, there’s no idea what could happen next,” Reichlin-Melnick continued. “No administration since DHS was created in 2003 has had no enforcement priorities at all. It could completely unleash ICE and CBP from White House control.”
But, hey, that’s a GOP goal, and anti-immigrant judges handpicked by Paxton and other Republican attorneys general have been more than happy to become de-facto DHS officials. Matthew Kacsmaryk, an anti-LGBTQ judge also appointed by the insurrectionist former president, ordered the Biden administration to restart the anti-asylum Remain in Mexico policy last summer.
“Kacsmaryk, and not an elected president, has dictated US-Mexico policy on immigration,” Vox reported in April.
The case around the forced reimplementation of Remain in Mexico is at the Supreme Court, with a decision expected this summer. That case matters—not only because real lives are at stake, but because justices will be deciding whether a Democratic president has the power to legitimately end a predecessor’s flawed policy.
Texas’ legal action also shows Republicans don’t want any immigrants here, period, after the state sued over a program that legally brings Central American children to the U.S. to reunite with parents who are already here and have legal status.
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The Texas Tribune reported in June on a family that’s waited 20 years to be reunited. But they may continue to remain separated due to the lawsuit seeking to stop the Central American Minors Program. “I have waited so long for my son to come to the United States, and I am losing hope,” the mother named Jesús said in the report.
Tipton’s case is also likely headed to the right-wing Supreme Court. “The judicial system is broken but the right wing pipeline is stronger than ever,” America’s Voice legal advisor David Leopold wrote in February. “Strength and endurance tested by Republican attacks on immigration, it’s now used by Republicans as a reliable political weapon against a broad range of issues, including abortion, the environment, COVID-19, and LGBTQ.”
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