US sues Texas over Abbott order restricting transfer of illegal immigrants

[ad_1]

WASHINGTON – The Justice Department filed a lawsuit against Texas Governor and Republican Greg Abbott in federal court late Friday over the state’s efforts to restrict illegal immigrant travel.

The suit said the July 28 executive order that Abbott signed “will severely disrupt federal immigration operations” in Texas and is invalid because states cannot take action to anticipate federal law enforcement.

In a strongly-worded letter Thursday, Attorney General Merrick Garland Abbott urged the withdrawal of the executive order. When the governor refused to act, he was sure to sue the federal government.

Abbott’s order said that only law enforcement officials could provide transpiration to immigrants who were detained for illegal border crossing. He said many detainees have tested positive for Covid-19, and moving them across the state threatens to spread the virus.

But the lawsuit said the federal government relies on contractors and NGOs to move immigrants around the state, so they can attend hearings or travel if they are released by Customs and Border Protection, CBP.

Since CBP stations are designed to hold people for only a short time, they must be transported. In the Rio Grande Valley sector alone, CBP has used contractors to move nearly 120,000 people since last October, the lawsuit said.

Contractors also transfer unaccompanied children from Homeland Security facilities to the custody of resettlement authorities.

“Massive federal immigration operations in Texas depend heavily on the ability of the federal government, its contractors, grantees, and partners to move non-citizens,” the government said.

Far from preventing the spread of Covid, the lawsuit said Abbott’s executive order would likely make matters worse by limiting immigrants’ ability to obtain medical care or testing. Government lawyers said it would worsen overcrowding at border facilities.

The Justice Department has asked a federal judge to immediately block Abbott’s executive order until the case can be heard.

Pete Williams

Pete Williams is a reporter for NBC News covering the Washington Department of Justice and the Supreme Court.

[ad_2]