AG Pax­ton Sues Biden Admin­is­tra­tion, Demand­ing Imme­di­ate Halt to Unlaw­ful Depor­ta­tion Freeze

Attorney General Ken Paxton today filed a complaint and motion for temporary restraining order in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, asking the Court to immediately halt the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) freeze on deportations of illegal aliens.

On its first day in office, the Biden Administration cast aside congressionally enacted immigration laws and suspended the removal of illegal aliens whose removal is compelled by those very laws. The move violates the U.S. Constitution, federal immigration and administrative law, and a contractual agreement between Texas and DHS. Last night, Attorney General Paxton issued a letter warning that the Administration’s actions resulted in an abdication of DHS’s obligation to enforce federal immigration law, which would seriously and irreparably harm Texas and its citizens.

“In one of its first of dozens of steps that harm Texas and the nation as a whole, the Biden administration directed DHS to violate federal immigration law and breach an agreement to consult and cooperate with Texas on that law. Our state defends the largest section of the southern border in the nation. Failure to properly enforce the law will directly and immediately endanger our citizens and law enforcement personnel,” said Attorney General Paxton. “DHS itself has previously acknowledged that such a freeze on deportations will cause concrete injuries to Texas. I am confident that these unlawful and perilous actions cannot stand. The rule of law and security of our citizens must prevail.”