A federal court judge has granted a temporary restraining order against President Biden’s attempt to pause deportations for 100 days. U.S. District Court Judge Drew Tipton ruled that the attempt to pause deportations was “not in accordance with law” and exceeded government authority.
Judge Tipton issued the restraining order against the Biden administration while presiding over the lawsuit filed by the state of Texas on On Tuesday, January 27, 2021.
73-year-old law boomerangs Biden
Ironically—or not—Judge Tipton cited the same law that was used to block several orders issued by the Trump administration. In issuing the restraining order against the Biden administration, Judge Tipton stated:
“The Court finds that, by ordering a 100-day pause on all removals of aliens already subject to a final order of removal, it appears that the January 20 Memorandum is clearly not in accordance with, or is in excess of, the authority accorded to the Attorney General pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1231(a)(1)(A).”
Essentially, the restraining order against the Biden administration memorandum—on behalf of the state of Texas—declared that the 100-day “pause” on deportations violates the Administrative Procedure Act. Specifically, Judge Tipton explained that act clearly states, “when an alien is ordered removed, the Attorney General shall remove the alien from the United States within a period of 90 days.” He also refuted the argument from the Biden administration that the 90-day period was somehow not mandatory—and pointed out that within the act, “Here, ‘shall’ means must.”
When presidents cause chaos for law enforcement…
The finer points of law, legalese, and statutory fine-print can be debated. However, one thing seems quite clear: the Biden administration has apparently ignored the basics of legal procedure—and is already causing confusion and chaos among law enforcement, and the Department of Homeland Security in particular. And it seems over-stepping political authority for the sake of political popularity is alive and well in the Biden administration.
The order to pause deportations for 100 days was put in place on January 20, 2021 and quickly created confusion. And if the remarks about the restraining order from the White House are any indication, it seems quite likely that more confusion, chaos, and side-stepping should be expected.
In practically admitting to the oversights and errors of the attempted 100-day pause order, a White House spokesperson stated that the restraining oder—AKA “temporary pause”—is somehow helpful since it wll “allow the agency to carefully review its policies, procedures and enforcement priorities,” as FoxNews also reported.
Meanwhile, law enforcement leaders and lawmakers alike are searching for guidance. For example, Senator Marco Rubio was “deeply troubled” by the 100-day deportation memorandum and posed many questions about how the order was going to be put into effect, as reported by the Washington Examiner.
Keeping communities safe?
The White House spokesperson continued to explain that “President Biden remains committed to taking immediate action to reform our immigration system to ensure it’s upholding American values while keeping our communities safe.”
However, there seems to have been little discussion about how the Biden administration intends to keep “communities safe” when it has already caused significant chaos and confusion for various law enforcement agencies—while overstepping authority—and overlooking basic legal procedures.
In the meantime, as members and supporters of the law enforcement community, we remain curious about how the Biden administration is actually going to sort out the confusion it has already caused—and actually do something to keep “our communities safe.”
Judge Tipton’s restraining order remains in effect for 14 days.
