Department of Justice sues Texas over Abbott’s order on immigrants carrying coronavirus

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On Friday, the US Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the state of Texas and its governor, Greg Abbott, over an order signed by the Republican governor to prevent the ground transportation of immigrants who may be carriers of Covid-19.

In a complaint filed with the US District Court for the Western District of El Paso, the Justice Department said Abbott’s order interfered with the federal government’s ability to handle immigration.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott speaks at a press conference where he signed two energy bills, Tuesday, June 8, 2021, in Austin, Texas. (AFP)

It came on the heels of Attorney General Merrick Garland threatening legal action on Thursday following the governor’s order. Garland asked Abbott to “immediately rescind” the executive order, which he described as “both dangerous and illegal.”

“The order violates federal law in many respects, and Texas cannot enforce law enforcement against any federal official or private actors working with the United States,” Garland wrote in a letter to Abbott.

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Wednesday’s executive order from Abbott placed restrictions on the ground transportation of immigrants “who present a risk of transmitting COVID-19 to Texas communities.”

Abbott argued that his order was necessary to counteract the rise in illegal immigration under the Biden administration. He accused President Biden’s border policies of complicity in the spread of COVID-19.

Texas Department of Public Safety officers work with a group of immigrants who crossed the border and turned themselves in in Del Rio, Texas. (AP/file)

“The Biden administration willfully accept hundreds of thousands of unauthorized immigrants, many of whom the federal government knows all too well to have,” Abbott said in response to Garland’s suit.

“To be clear, the Biden administration is publicly considering imminent shutdowns and mandates on American citizens to control the spread of COVID-19, while at the same time the administration is deliberately exacerbating the problem by importing COVID-19 at extreme rates.”

Abbott issued the order a day after police in La Joya, Texas, announced that illegal immigrants in the country, who may have tested positive for COVID-19, had been released from federal custody and placed in a local hotel by a charity, leaving them behind. Free to roam. Police learned of the situation when people in nearby Whataburger complained of a group of apparently sick people not wearing masks while coughing and sneezing inside the restaurant.

Meanwhile, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said the Lone Star state “will not back down” and vowed to defend the governor’s order and “keep President Biden out of Texas’ business.”

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The lawsuit escalates tensions between the Biden and Abbott administration over the governor’s actions at the border, which have included jailing immigrants for state crimes and building new barriers.

The Border Patrol’s Rio Grande Valley sector, the busiest lane for illegal crossings, held more than 8,300 migrants Wednesday, with an average processing time of 57 hours, sector chief Brian Hastings said. The sector has released more than 100,000 migrants since October 1, including 9,000 in the past week.

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The Department of Homeland Security reported that 646 children traveling alone were detained across the Mexico border on Thursday, compared to an average of 480 per day over the previous 30 days.

Fox News’ Kaitlin McFall and Luis Casciano, as well as The Associated Press, contributed to this report.

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