Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton criticized the Department of Justice on Newsmax for filing a lawsuit over a new law that allows state and local law enforcement to arrest people they believe are in Texas illegally.
“It’s pretty unreasonable,” Paxton told “Rob Schmitt Tonight” on Thursday. “We have had three years of the Biden administration dismantling federal law and not [only] not enforcing it, but actually encouraging the cartels to bring as many people as possible to the border. It’s not like anybody’s hiding anymore. They go straight to Border Patrol.
“Then we have a massive influx of drugs and human trafficking and all kinds of bad stuff. And all we’re trying to do — because the federal government is aiding and abetting — is say, ‘No, we’ve had enough.’ The damage is significant. We don’t want any more, and suddenly we’re being sued for that.”
The DOJ filed the lawsuit Wednesday at U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas in Austin over Senate Bill 4, signed into law by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott on Dec. 18, 2023. The lawsuit claims the federal government under the U.S. Constitution has the sole authority to regulate immigration and manage U.S. international borders. The law is set to take effect March 5.
“Texas cannot disregard the United States Constitution and settled Supreme Court precedent,” said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the DOJ’s Civil Division in a news release. “We have brought this action to ensure that Texas adheres to the framework adopted by Congress and the Constitution for regulation of immigration.”
Texas also is being criticized for sending thousands of migrants by bus and airplane to Democrat-run cities such as New York, Chicago, and Denver that declared themselves during the Trump administration as sanctuaries for illegal immigrants and asylum seekers. But Paxton said the Biden administration never coordinated with Texas regarding its open-border policies and lack of immigration enforcement.
“No calls were made; no help was given; no resources were given,” Paxton said. “We were just inundated with an unbelievable number of millions of people over the last several years coming across our border, including potential terrorists, people that are involved in crime. People are importing fentanyl, killing our kids; and we’re the ones that are irresponsible.
“Our governor is responsible because he’s saying, ‘We don’t want to put up with this and we’re going to send a few of these people to places that have said openly when Trump was in office that “we want them. We are a sanctuary city. Please bring them to us because what Trump is doing is wrong. So please bring them to our city.”‘
“So they get a few hundred or a few thousand. We get millions, and they have a problem with that and saying that we’re doing something wrong. It doesn’t make sense.”
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