Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has voiced his criticism of the Department of Justice’s decision to file a lawsuit against a new Texas law that grants state and local law enforcement the authority to arrest individuals they suspect of being in the state illegally. Paxton expressed his concerns, describing the situation as unreasonable and highlighting the challenges faced due to the Biden administration’s approach to immigration enforcement.
Paxton stated, “We have witnessed three years of the Biden administration essentially dismantling federal immigration law, not only failing to enforce it but also inadvertently encouraging cartels to exploit the situation by bringing more individuals to the border. There is no secrecy about it; these individuals go directly to the Border Patrol. Consequently, we have seen a significant surge in drug trafficking, human trafficking, and other illicit activities. All we are attempting to do, given the federal government’s complicity, is to say, ‘Enough is enough.’ The damage caused by this situation is substantial, and we are now being sued for trying to address it.”
The lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice on Wednesday, at the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas in Austin, targets Senate Bill 4, which was signed into law by Texas Governor Greg Abbott on December 18, 2023. The lawsuit contends that, under the U.S. Constitution, the federal government holds exclusive authority to regulate immigration and oversee U.S. international borders. This law is slated to go into effect on March 5.
Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, who heads the DOJ’s Civil Division, emphasized in a news release, “Texas cannot ignore the United States Constitution and established Supreme Court precedents. We have initiated this legal action to ensure that Texas adheres to the framework established by Congress and the Constitution for the regulation of immigration.”
Additionally, Texas has faced criticism for transporting thousands of migrants by bus and plane to Democrat-led cities like New York, Chicago, and Denver, which had declared themselves sanctuaries for illegal immigrants and asylum seekers during the Trump administration. Paxton, however, argued that the Biden administration never collaborated with Texas regarding its open-border policies and the lack of immigration enforcement.
Paxton remarked, “No communication was initiated, no assistance provided, and no resources allocated. We were inundated with an unprecedented influx of millions of individuals over the past several years, including potential terrorists and individuals involved in criminal activities. They were bringing in fentanyl, which was devastating our communities and affecting our children. Yet, somehow, we are the ones being portrayed as irresponsible.”
He added, “Our governor is taking responsibility by stating, ‘We cannot tolerate this anymore, and we will send some of these individuals to cities that openly declared their willingness to accept them during the Trump era, designating themselves as sanctuary cities. They said, ‘Bring them to us because what Trump is doing is wrong.’ So, they received a few hundred or even a few thousand individuals, while we had to contend with millions. It is perplexing that we are now being criticized for our actions when it simply does not add up.”
