Texas Seeks Restraining Order Against Biden Administration’s New Border Plan

Texas Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a request for a temporary restraining order in federal court seeking to block the Biden administration's new plan for immigrants at the border that Paxton is slamming as "unlawful."

The new federal policy was enacted just hours after the end of the Title 42 coronavirus public health order, which had allowed border officials to quickly turn back asylum seekers over the last three years.

A record 11,000 immigrants surged over the border on Tuesday.

But as of Friday, the southern border was "relatively calm," offering little evidence of the signs of the chaos feared after Title 42 expired, the Associated Press reported.

The new federal regulations enforced by the Customs and Border Protection agency will now allow a humanitarian "parole with conditions" of incoming immigrants if migrant facilities reach 125% capacity.

They will be required to make an appointment with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or request a notice to appear in court by mail. They would not be given a court date or a registration number when released.

"To any reasonable American, this is insanity," Paxton said in a statement issued Friday.

"Biden’s effort to subject Texas communities to the costs and chaos of unending, out-of-control illegal immigration will not go unchallenged, and we’re taking him to court to stop this unlawful policy," he added.

His lawsuit argues that the administration failed to provide a required comment period for the new plan, and that the policy will cause states "immediate and irreparable harm for which it has no adequate remedy at law." 

Twelve other states — Alabama, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia — have joined the legal action.

A federal judge in Florida on Thursday granted a two-week restraining order on the policy until a hearing could be held following a court challenge by that state's attorney general, Ashley Moody. The case, however, was argued on a different legal basis than Paxton's action.

Meanwhile, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott this week shipped off two busloads of migrants to Washington, D.C., stranding them outside the home of Vice President Kamala Harris.