U.S. District Judge Drew Tipton delivered a verdict that went against the plaintiffs in a case involving the Biden administration’s lenient use of parole for undocumented immigrants. However, in a simultaneous victory for former President Donald Trump and advocates of strict border enforcement, the judge ruled in their favor. The rulings were issued separately on Friday in Victoria, Texas. According to UPI, Judge Tipton determined that Texas and other states, which had challenged President Joe Biden’s parole policy allowing migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela to seek entry into the United States and temporarily reside here upon approval, lacked the legal standing to do so.
The newswire added: “The policy enables up to 30,000 migrants from the four nations to arrive monthly and has enabled more than 386,000 people from those nations to arrive in the United States over the past year. In his ruling, Tipton said there is no evidence that the parole policy harms Texas or any other states, so they have no standing to challenge it in federal court, CNN and the Miami Herald reported.”
Biden’s DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas praised Tipton’s ruling.
“These processes—a safe and orderly way to reach the United States—have resulted in a significant reduction in the number of these individuals encountered at our southern border,” he noted in a statement Friday.
“Those who do not have a legal basis to remain in the United States will be subject to prompt removal, a minimum five-year bar on admission, and potential criminal prosecution for unlawful re-entry,” Mayorkas added.
However, Tipton also issued a directive for the administration to recommence the construction of a border wall that had been authorized during the Trump administration. The case, brought forward by Texas, Missouri, and other co-plaintiffs, alleged that the Biden administration had disregarded the intentions and wishes of Congress by diverting $1.4 billion in border wall construction funds to other purposes. Tipton approved the state’s request to prevent the Department of Homeland Security from misusing the funds and instead utilize them for the original purpose of constructing Trump’s border wall along the southwestern border.
According to UPI, George P. Bush, the commissioner of the Texas General Land Office, along with the states of Missouri and Texas, challenged the constitutionality of the Biden administration’s reallocation of funds in separate court filings. They also sought an injunction to halt the parole policy.
Upon assuming office, President Biden halted the construction of the border wall between the United States and Mexico, despite Congress approving $1.4 billion for its completion in both 2020 and 2021, as stated in the lawsuits: “had a different view on how these funds should be spent” and “via proclamation, paused the obligation of these funds the day he was inaugurated,” the states said.
“Instead, Biden ordered the Department of Homeland Security to assess the matter, which resulted in two plans that didn’t involve building the border wall. Instead, the DHS would only ensure any existing structure is stable,” UPI reported.
The Biden administration redirected funds initially allocated for the construction of a barrier system along the southern border to focus on “environmental remediation, flood control, and cleanup projects” along with “more intelligent border security measures.” The states contended that this transfer of funds goes against their original purpose and amounts to a misuse of them.
Tipton mentioned that Texas proved that constructing more physical barriers “would lead to a decrease in the number of illegal aliens entering the country,” a claim supported by DHS data, as reported by the newswire.
“DHS data show an 87% decline in illegal crossings in the Yuma sector during the 2020 fiscal year compared to a year prior and a 79% decrease in apprehensions in the Rio Grande Valley sector,” UPI added.
