Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued on Friday in a federal court to stop the Biden administration from implementing a policy that would allow for migrants to be paroled into the US without court dates — hours after the Title 42 public health order had been dropped, and the policy had already been dealt a blow in the courts.
Paxton, who has filed over a dozen lawsuits challenging Biden administration border and immigration policies, filed a request for a temporary restraining order on a policy outlined in a May 10 memo. Joining onto the lawsuit were 12 other states: Alabama, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia.
The policy would see migrants released via humanitarian parole “with conditions” if Customs and Border Protection (CBP) faces overcrowding. The memo would release migrants without a court date and without an alien registration number, and would require them to make an appointment with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or request a Notice to Appear in court by mail.
The policy authorizes parole if a sector capacity goes above 125%, if agents apprehend 7,000 a day over 72 hours or if average time in custody goes above 60 hours. Agents have had multiple days when encounters have soared to over 10,000.
FEDERAL JUDGE BLOCKS BIDEN ADMIN FROM RELEASING MIGRANTS WITHOUT COURT DATES AS TITLE 42 EXPIRES
Paxton, in a statement, said the policy undermines US border security.
FILE – Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks during a rally featuring former President Donald Trump, Oct. 22, 2022, in Robstown, Texas. (AP Photo/Nick Wagner, File)
“There are no words that can fully describe the unmitigated catastrophe that Joe Biden has created on our southern border,” he said.. “What we are watching in real time is the systematic, deliberate, and intentional destruction of American border security. There’s simply no other explanation for what Biden is doing. As the number of daily border crossings hits record highs and Title 42 expires, the Biden Administration has announced they will release thousands of illegal immigrants every day—without even requiring a court date.”
“To any reasonable American, this is insanity. Biden’s effort to subject Texas communities to the costs and chaos of unending, out-of-control illegal immigration will not go unchallenged, and we’re taking him to court to stop this unlawful policy, “he said.
The lawsuit accuses the administration of failing to provide a notice and comment period, which it claims is required by the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), and says the policy will cause the states “immediate and irreparable harm for which it has no adequate remedy at law.”
“By unlawfully releasing illegal aliens into the States under this policy, the Defendants will damage them by inflicting on them costs for public education, law enforcement and incarceration, unreimbursed health care, and other public services for such illegal aliens…” it says.
The policy faced a separate lawsuit from Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody on Thursday, which argued that the policy was “materially identical” to a “Parole + ATD” policy blocked as part of a lawsuit in March.
Judge T. Kent Wetherell agreed with the assessment and handed down a two-week restraining order that blocks the implementation of the program until a hearing on an injunction.
The Texas case argues for an injunction outside of its similarity to the Parole + ATD policy.
BORDER PATROL CHIEF AUTHORIZES RELEASE OF MIGRANTS INTO US WITHOUT COURT DATES AS TITLE 42 ENDS
The Biden administration has strongly opposed a block on the parole policy. In a filing in response to the Florida lawsuit, lawyers said that blocking the use of parole has the potential to cause chaos at the border, and estimated that doing so would result in an overwhelming 45,000 migrants in custody by the end of May.
After the blocking of the policy, DHS officials said they would comply with the order and are assessing next steps.
“This is a harmful ruling that will result in unsafe overcrowding at CBP facilities and undercut our ability to efficiently process and remove migrants, and risks creating dangerous conditions for Border Patrol agents and migrants,” Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said in a statement .
“The fact remains that when overcrowding has occurred in Border Patrol facilities, Republican and Democratic Administrations alike have used this parole authority to protect the safety and security of migrants and the workforce. Individuals apprehended by CBP are thoroughly vetted against all national security and public safety systems, regardless of how they are processed.”
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As of Friday morning, sources told Fox News that there are 25,000 migrants in custody with multiple sectors over capacity.
Fox News’ Aubrie Spady and Bill Melugin contributed to this report
