Texas argues Biden immigration policy is illegal in U.S. Supreme Court

WASHINGTON (Gray DC) - Texas argued in the U.S. Supreme Court Tuesday, a 2021 Biden administration policy to focus national resources on the most dangerous immigrants is illegal.

The Immigration Reform Law Institute, which filed an amicus brief in support of the lawsuit, said choosing not to deport some immigrants is inconsistent with the laws Congress has passed.

“The law says, that’s sort of how we have the border,” Immigration Reform Law Institute Director of Litigation Chris Hajec said. “If you cross the border without permission, then you are subject to being removed at any time.”

The Department of Homeland Security argued in court Congress has not given the agency enough money to enforce the law and deport more than 11 million undocumented immigrants. The National Immigration Law Center filed an amicus brief opposing the lawsuit. The group said deciding where to selectively enforce laws is something every police department does across the country.

“Being able to choose to focus on alleged murders, alleged kidnappings, alleged rapes, as opposed to stopping every single person on the street for every single traffic citation,” National Immigration Law Center Vice President of Law and Policy Lisa Grabill said.

Also at issue is when a state can challenge the federal government on immigration. Texas argues they have standing because the policy costs them money.

“Their counties are being flooded with illegal aliens, and they have to deal with all the crime that results,” Hajec said.

The policy has been temporarily blocked by a Texas federal judge. The NILC said this lawsuit continues a troubling trend of Texas trying to dismantle federal policy by going to conservative judges.

“They filed this case in Victoria, Texas, which is over 200 miles from the nearest border, it’s not the state Capitol, and it doesn’t have a significant population of undocumented immigrants,” Graybill said.

DHS has asked the Supreme Court to address a district judges’ ability to block certain federal policy. A decision in this case could take months, with the Supreme Court usually finishing issuing rulings in June.