Headline: Bidens Attempts to Halt Deportations for 30 Days- Blocked by Federal Judge 

Author: Madison Kwiecinski, New Editor

On January 26t a U.S Federal District Judge, Drew Tipton, issued a temporary restraining order from the states of Texas against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security because they issued a memo instructing all immigration agencies to temporarily halt deportations.

Tipton, who was originally appointed to his position by former President Donald Trump, has said the Biden Administration has failed “to provide any concrete, reasonable justification for a 100-day pause on deportations.”

Tipton’s order comes as one of the first major blows the Biden administration has had to endure in office. The Biden administration has plans for extensive changes in immigration policy, a focal point of his and Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign platform.

The White House has issued a statement saying, “President Biden remains committed to taking immediate action to reform our immigration system to ensure its upholding American values while keeping our communities safe.”

On Biden’s first day in office, a memo was sent to and signed by the Department of Homeland Security issuing and directing immigration authorities to redirect their focus to illegal immigrants who pose a threat to national or public safety, as well as anyone caught entering the U.S. illegally after November 1st.

This redirection on immigration policy is a drastic change to the immigration policy that was enforced by Trump while in office, which made anyone in the U.S. illegally a priority target for deportation.

The Texas Attorney General, Ken Paxton, says that the deportation memo issued violates an agreement former President Trump signed near the end of his administration, which requires Homeland Security to consult with Texas and other states before taking action to “reduce, redirect, reprioritize, relax, or in any way modify immigration enforcement.”

However, the Biden Administration is arguing in court that, “the agreement is unenforceable,” because, “an outgoing administration cannot contract away that power for an incoming administration.”

In addition to the deportation freeze, the Biden Administration plans to legalize around 11million illegal immigrants that are currently residing in the U.S. already.

Kate Huddelston, from The American Civil Liberties Union, spoke out against Pexton saying that, “The administration’s pause on deportations is not only lawful but necessary to ensure that families are not separated, and people are not returned to danger needlessly while the new administration reviews past actions.”

The American Civil Liberties Union has now issued a brief opposing paxon and criticizing Tipton’s ruling.

Huddelston is likely referring to former President Trump’s‘ Zero Tolerance’ immigration plan that was stopped through court orders during Trump’s term. This immigration policy allowed for hundreds of children to be separated from their families, in some cases deporting the parents before reuniting them with their children. The policy has been officially removed through an executive order signed by Biden on his first day in office.

Biden’s original 100-day deportation pause was implemented so that the U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE), a government organization previously criticized for terrorizing immigrants who had not committed serious crimes, could overhaul its enforcement policies. However, it is still possible to do so if the Biden Administration wins in court.

Currently, Tipton’s order is a temporary suspension, stopping the memo from being enforced for 14-days, but it does not mean deportations will continue at their previous rate.

Tipton has also released a statement saying, “The Court notes that the scope of this injunction is something it is willing to revisit after the parties fully brief and argue the issue for purposes of the upcoming motion for a preliminary injunction,” he wrote. “Though the scope of this [temporary restraining order] is broad, it is not necessarily permanent.”

Photo Credits: (AP Photo/Emilio Espejel, File)