A federal district judge has blocked President Joe Biden’s halt to deportations for illegal aliens after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against the administration.
Hours after taking office on January 20, Biden signed an executive order that halts deportations of most illegal aliens for at least 100 days. The order came as illegal immigration has spiked in recent months and a migrant caravan heads to the United States-Mexico border in the hopes of taking advantage of the Biden administration’s lax enforcement policies.
Last week, Paxton filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration, asking a federal judge to block the order noting the negative impact it would have on the state of Texas and its social services.
Following a hearing, U.S. District Judge Drew B. Tipton blocked the order for 14 days:
Defendants and all their respective officers, agents, servants, employees, attorneys, and other persons who are in active concert or participation with them are hereby ENJOINED and RESTRAINED from enforcing and implementing the policies described in the January 20 Memorandum in Section C entitled “Immediate 100- Day Pause on Removals.” [Emphasis added]
This TRO is granted on a nationwide basis and prohibits enforcement and implementation of the policies described in the January 20 Memorandum in Section C entitled “Immediate 100-Day Pause on Removals” in every place Defendants have jurisdiction to enforce and implement the January 20 Memorandum. [Emphasis added]
Tipton noted Paxton’s lawsuit had “presented evidence it would suffer injuries for various reasons if an injunction is not entered.”
“First, Texas demonstrates that it pays millions of dollars annually to provide social services and uncompensated healthcare expenses and other state-provided benefits to illegal aliens such as the Emergency Medicaid program, the Family Violence Program, and the Texas Children’s Health Insurance Program,” Tipton wrote.
“Additionally, Texas has presented evidence that it would incur increased educational costs … Texas anticipates suffering financial harm from which it cannot recover by suing the federal government,” Tipton continued.
Tipton’s halt Biden’s order can be extended for an additional 14 days. Eventually, Paxton will have to seek a preliminary injunction.
“The Court’s decision to stop the Biden administration from casting aside congressionally enacted immigration laws is a much-needed remedy for DHS’s unlawful action,” Paxton said in a statement. “A near-complete suspension of deportations would only serve to endanger Texans and undermine federal law.”
Deportations for illegal aliens is a huge cost savings for American taxpayers, research has found. The taxpayer cost of the roughly 11 million to 22 million illegal aliens living across the U.S. totals nearly $750 billion over the course of a lifetime while each deportation costs just $10,900. This indicates that taxpayers would save about $622 billion over a lifetime if every illegal alien was deported.
Paxton’s lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas. The case number is 6:21-cv-00003.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com.