The Biden administration has been given its first major setback in its immigration deregulation efforts. A federal judge Tuesday evening blocked President Biden’s executive order that stopped deportations. The moratorium announced by Biden on his first day in office was to have been for 100 days with some saying it is causing a new immigration crisis.
Texas successfully sued the Biden administration and a judge has now blocked the “open door’ policy with a restraining order in effect for 14 days according to Reuters.
The Texas lawsuit asserts that the new administration would be violating an agreement it has with the Department of Homeland Security – and would require at least 180 days’ notice, as well as consultation, prior to implementing changes in immigration policy. It is unclear whether those terms are enforceable, but similar agreements were struck with several other states under the former administration.
Fox News exclusively reported over the weekend that an email sent last week to ICE officers called for stopping “all removals” and to “release them [undocumented immigrants] all, immediately.”
Biden is attempting to radically change the immigration policy put in place by Trump that has seen a dramatic decrease in the number of individuals entering the country illegally.
The moratorium – which took effect on Friday – would not have applied to individuals already in the country illegally before the election. The Biden policy is seen as having fueled mass caravans of people moving north through Central America. News reports have shown individuals in the caravan as saying they were coming because “Biden will let them in.”
The Biden administration was planning to announce further guidance on the issue by Feb. 1.
The court ruling on deportations is the first major setback to the Biden administration which has already set a record for the number of executive orders passed in the first week of any American administration.
–Metro Voice and wire services
