A court extended a nationwide temporary injunction on President Joe Biden’s moratorium on deportations of certain people, records show.
On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Drew B. Tipton extended for 14 days a temporary restraining order that he originally handed down Jan. 27, which prevented the Department of Homeland Security from implementing a pause on deportations of certain people.
“This TRO is granted on a nationwide basis and prohibits enforcement and implementation of the policies described in the January 20 Memorandum… Immediate 100-Day Pause on Removals,” the court record shows. “…In every place Defendants have jurisdiction to enforce and implement the January 20 Memorandum.”
The extension of the TRO is related to a lawsuit brought by the Texas Attorney General against DHS claiming it had broken an agreement it had entered into with the state and other jurisdictions regarding immigration policy.
According to the lawsuit, the agreement was violated when Biden signed a set of memos and executive orders related to immigration, including a 100-day pause on the deportations of certain persons with final deportation orders.
The state filed the lawsuit five days after Biden took office. The suit refers to a pledge made by the Trump administration with Texas, Arizona, Louisiana, Indiana, and Rockingham County, in North Carolina that required DHS to provide 180-day written notice before enacting any immigration policy changes and that diverts power to these jurisdictions.
The government, among other things, claimed during a hearing in late January that the pledge made by these jurisdictions with an outgoing administration is unenforceable.
According to the filing Tuesday, the court stated the extension was granted for four different reasons, including the need for more time for the “record to be more fully developed,” related to Tipton’s request of the government to provide data related to people with deportation orders, and those in custody, that was requested during the late January hearing.
Texas argues in its lawsuit against DHS that the moratorium would cause the state irreparable harm, but did not list specifics. Thus far, the court has agreed with Texas’ claim of harm — more so than that than the harm caused to the federal government, according to Tuesday’s filing.
“ …The irreparable harm that would accrue to Texas if an extension of the TRO is not granted before consideration of its Motion for a Preliminary Injunction is more substantial than any harm incurred by the Defendants,” the filing states.
The extended temporary restraining order will remain in effect through Feb. 23, the record shows.
