Texas Democratic Representative Joaquin Castro says Congress should draw up “articles of impeachment” against President Donald Trump over his executive order, which temporarily prohibits the arrival of Syrian refugees into the United States and halts entry of citizens from Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Libya.
Castro’s concerns, he says, stem from a fear that Trump will order the Customs and Border Protection Agency (CBP) to ignore a federal judge’s emergency stay, issued during the weekend, blocking the implementation of certain parts of the temporary refugee travel ban.
“There should be a resolution of censure,” Castro told BuzzFeed. “And if he does it again, there should be articles of impeachment.”
On Saturday, a federal judged issued an emergency stay on deportations of detainees under the executive order.
The Texas lawmaker has joined Senate Democrats calling on Congress to “investigate whether President Trump intentionally exceeded his constitutional authority.”
If Trump flat-out ignores the court-ordered stay, Castro warns, the President would turn the country into a “military junta.”
But CBP spokesperson Gillian Christensen has rebuked the claims that her agency is ignoring the emergency stay.
“CBP officers are not detaining anyone. Green card holders who arrive in the U.S. have to go through secondary screening but that process is working smoothly and relatively quickly,” Christensen told BuzzFeed.
Nevertheless, Castro, who is considering running for the Senate against Senator Ted Cruz in 2018, will not let up.
“There’s no longer any checks and balances,” Castro said.
Despite the intense pushback, from Hollywood to Capitol Hill, a majority of Americans agree with President Trump’s temporary halt on refugees from terror-prone countries.
Follow Jerome Hudson on Twitter @jeromeehudson.