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Texas Governor Greg Abbott speaks at a press conference at the Texas State Capitol in Austin, May 18.
Lynda M. Gonzalez Pool | Getty Images
The U.S. Department of Justice on Friday sued Texas and its Governor Greg Abbott for blocking a state order aimed at restricting the travel of undocumented migrants who could potentially transmit Covid-19.
The complaint states that Abbott’s ordinance, enacted Wednesday, affects the federal government’s ability to lawfully release and transport migrants and violates interstate immunity.
“No state may hinder the federal government in the exercise of its constitutional responsibility,” it said in its lawsuit in the US District Court for the Western District of Texas in El Paso.
The lawsuit comes a day after Attorney General Merrick Garland threatened to “appeal” if Abbott does not overturn the order.
Abbott’s order restricts ground transportation of illegal migrants recently released from US border patrol custody “who pose a risk of carrying Covid-19 into Texas communities.”
It instructs the Texas Department of Public Safety to stop and turn vehicles suspected of hauling such migrants and cites the surge in people crossing the Texas-Mexico border as an “ongoing and imminent” threat .
The order is designed as a public health order as Covid cases increase in the state while Abbott has openly spoken out against new mask and vaccine requirements. It drew sharp criticism from Garland, who wrote a letter to Abbott on Thursday describing the order as illegal and unconstitutional.
“Among other things, the order would exacerbate and lengthen facility and shelter overcrowding and hinder the federal government’s agreements with state, local and nongovernmental partners to ensure that released persons are transported for appropriate COVID-19 testing to address public concerns To clean up health, ”Garland wrote in his letter to Abbott.
In response, Abbott said in a statement Thursday that he would fend off any efforts by the Justice Department to block the order from the executive branch.
“(T) he Biden Administration threatens the health and safety of Texans every day by refusing to obey the law. And it’s not just Texans; these irresponsible policies and actions by the Biden Administration put the lives of many Americans at risk too. ” than the illegal immigrants themselves, “Abbott said in the statement.” I will take every step available, in accordance with the law, to fulfill my duty to protect the health and safety of all Texans. “
The new lawsuit is the Biden administration’s latest backlash against measures taken by Abbott on the U.S.-Mexico border, such as detaining migrants for state crimes and building new border fences. Abbott, a Republican, has set himself the goal of following former President Donald Trump’s tough immigration stance.
It also comes as the Biden administration is grappling with a surge in migrants on the U.S.-Mexico border, with detentions hitting a 20-year high in recent months.
According to US Customs and Border Protection, over 1.1 million arrests were recorded in the first six months of this fiscal year. And in June alone, there was a record high of almost 190,000 arrests.
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