The legal battle between the U.S. Department of Justice and Gov. Greg Abbott continues.
A federal judge in El Paso announced Monday that she will issue an order on the DOJ’s request for a temporary restraining order Tuesday afternoon.
Last Wednesday, Gov. Abbott signed an executive order allowing Texas Department of Public Safety troopers to stop vehicles suspected of transporting migrants.
The order authorizes DPS to stop any vehicle suspected of transporting individuals who may have been detained by CBP for crossing the border illegally.
Troopers would be allowed to reroute vehicles back to their starting points, or a port of entry, if an actual violation is confirmed.
According to court documents, an average of over 1,100 migrants are transferred every day from Customs and Border Protection custody at the southwest border “almost exclusively by contractors.”
“The sheer number of noncitizens encountered by CBP along the southwest border and transferred to ICE custody makes it impossible for it to use law enforcement officers as opposed to contractors to transport them while still executing its law enforcement responsibilities,” Russell Hott , an ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations assistant director, said in court filings.
Brian Hastings, chief patrol agent for U.S. Border Patrol, said in court filings that if the executive order prevents the transport of migrant children and families, it would cause them to be held for longer periods within Border Patrol facilities, violating federal rules. It would also crowd the facilities and worsen the chance of COVID-19 spread, he said.
Judge blocks Texas governor s plan to stop vehicles suspected of transporting migrants released from federal custody By Camilo Montoya-Galvez
August 3, 2021 / 8:39 PM / CBS News
A federal judge in El Paso on Tuesday temporarily halted Texas Governor Greg Abbott s plan to use state law enforcement to stop vehicles suspected of transporting migrants released from U.S. border custody.
U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone issued an order blocking Texas authorities from enforcing Abbott s directive until at least August 13, saying the order could be unconstitutional.
Tuesday s ruling, while temporary, is a triumph for the Biden administration, which has been engaged in an escalating political and legal conflict with Texas over the fate of the country s border and immigration policies.
Federal judge temporarily blocks Abbott s order allowing troopers to stop vehicles with migrants
5 hours 35 minutes 22 seconds ago
Tuesday, August 03 2021
Aug 3, 2021
August 03, 2021 5:25 PM
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A federal judge has temporarily blocked Gov. Greg Abbott and the state of Texas from allowing Texas Department of Public Safety troopers to stop vehicles suspected of transporting migrants, Tuesday.
U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone granted the Department of Justice s request for a temporary restraining order on Abbott s executive order targeting the transportation of undocumented immigrants, stating that it is a violation of the U.S. Constitution.
Last Wednesday, Gov. Abbott signed the executive order, allowing DPS troopers to stop vehicles suspected of transporting migrants.
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Two years after the mass shooting El Pasoans remember the 23 victims. They re also reminded of the broken promises made by top leadership in Texas in the wake of the attack and they worry conditions are ripe for more hate crime violence.
EL PASO Just ahead of the official unveiling August 3rd, El Paso County Judge Ricardo Samaniego walked through the healing garden planted to honor the victims of the 2019 Walmart mass shooting.
Since the hate crime that took the lives of 23 people and left dozens more injured, Samaniego has been involved in every painstaking detail of the garden. This includes the shape “circular, like a hug,” 23 Italian cypress trees planted by family members of the victims, and the fountains with calming cascades of water.