A judge at the US District Court for the Southern District of Texas on Tuesday granted a temporary restraining order (TRO) against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), blocking President Joe Biden’s 100-day deportation pause.
The order comes days after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed an emergency application for a TRO against DHS last Friday. In his request, Paxton argued that Texas would likely suffer “irreparable” fiscal harm if DHS were to implement Biden’s new immigration policy. Judge Drew Tipton agreed that the new policy would bring “imminent and irreparable harm” to the state of Texas, and enjoined DHS from halting deportation for 100 days.
“Our state defends the largest section of the southern border in the nation,” Paxton said. “Failure to properly enforce the law will directly and immediately endanger our citizens and law enforcement personnel.”
Tipton concluded that the 100-day deportation pause violates existing laws concerning removal proceedings. These laws provide that “when a [non-citizen] is ordered removed, the Attorney General shall remove the [non-citizen] from the United States within a period of 90 days.” He noted further that the suspension is “not in accordance with law,” and is in “excess of the government’s statutory authority.” He found that, in addition to violating the law, DHS failed to offer any “concrete, reasonable justification” for the action.
The TRO applies nationwide in any place where DHS has jurisdiction over immigration claims.