A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order on Tuesday, pausing Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s recent order to restrict the transportation of migrants in his state.
The Justice Department, which filed suit against Texas on Friday, is likely to succeed in a broader legal review on its claims Abbott’s order violates the Constitution by obstructing the federal government’s lawful operations, wrote Judge Kathleen Cardone of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas.
Abbott issued his order on July 28, which provided that “no person, other than a federal, state, or local law-enforcement official, shall provide ground transportation to a group of migrants,” citing concerns of COVID-19-positive migrants spreading the coronavirus following reports of Homeland Security Department officials dropping off illegal crossers in border towns as they await U.S. immigration court proceedings.
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“The dramatic rise in unlawful border crossings has also led to a dramatic rise in COVID-19 cases among unlawful migrants who have made their way into our state, and we must do more to protect Texans from this virus and reduce the burden on our communities,” Abbott said in a statement.
Attorney General Merrick Garland threatened to sue over the “dangerous and unlawful” order the next day.
“The order would jeopardize the health and safety of noncitizens in federal government custody, federal law enforcement personnel and their families, and our communities,” Garland wrote Abbott in a letter on Thursday.
Garland added Texas can’t legally enforce the order against federal officials or private organizations working with the federal government.
The Justice Department filed a complaint on Friday, arguing the Constitution’s supremacy clause meant Texas law could not overrule the Biden administration’s immigration enforcement.
“In our constitutional system, a State has no right to regulate the federal government’s operations. But the executive order seeks to do just that,” the Justice Department said in its complaint.
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Cardone wrote the Justice Department is “likely to prevail” in its supremacy clause claims, finding Abbott’s order seeks to obstruct federal immigration law enforcement.
The restraining order remains in place until Aug. 13, when attorneys for both parties are scheduled to appear for a hearing on the Justice Department’s request for a preliminary injunction.
