The Biden Justice Department is quarreling with Texas Governor Greg Abbot over a new Texas state immigration law that gives state law enforcement authority to detain and deport illegal immigrants. The Texas State Legislature passed this law in response to the peculiar and conspicuous fact that federal authorities have apparently (for some reason) ceased enforcing federal immigration law. As was reported by CNN on Wednesday:
The Biden administration on Wednesday filed a lawsuit against Texas over its controversial immigration law that gives local law enforcement in Texas the authority to arrest migrants, arguing the state “cannot run its own immigration system.”
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The move comes after the Justice Department threatened last week to sue Texas if it didn’t back down from the measure. It marks the second legal action against the state this week, as President Joe Biden and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott spar over the handling of the US-Mexico border.
In December, Abbott, a Republican, signed into law Senate Bill 4, which also gives judges the ability to issue orders to remove people from the United States. The White House has slammed the law – which is slated to take effect in March – as “incredibly extreme.”
In its lawsuit, the Justice Department argued that the measure undercuts the federal government’s “exclusive authority” to enforce immigration law.
“Its efforts, through SB 4, intrude on the federal government’s exclusive authority to regulate the entry and removal of noncitizens, frustrate the United States’ immigration operations and proceedings, and interfere with U.S. foreign relations. SB 4 is invalid and must be enjoined,” the complaint, filed in the US District Court for the Western District of Texas, states.
The Justice Department requested that the measure be blocked.
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“SB 4 is clearly unconstitutional,” Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta said in a statement. “Under the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution and longstanding Supreme Court precedent, states cannot adopt immigration laws that interfere with the framework enacted by Congress. The Justice Department will continue to fulfill its responsibility to uphold the Constitution and enforce federal law.”
CNN has reached out to Abbott’s office for comment.
Earlier this week, the Biden administration asked the Supreme Court to allow it to remove razor wire at the US-Mexico border that was installed by Texas. The dispute is over whether the Border Patrol has the legal authority to cut concertina wire on the banks of the Rio Grande.
This is shaping up to be an interesting contest between federal authority and states’ rights. In this case, the State of Texas is claiming the right and the need to maintain the integrity of its southern border because the U.S. government has abrogated its duty and its corresponding authority to do so.
