Federal judge blocks Texas governor's order for state troopers to halt migrant transports


A federal judge in El Paso on Tuesday temporarily blocked Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's (R) order that state troopers stop vehicles carrying migrants, siding with the Biden administration. The Justice Department sued Abbott and Texas on Friday, two days after Abbott issued his latest controversial immigration order and one day after Attorney General Merrick Garland called that order "dangerous and unlawful." Abbott spokeswoman Renae Eze underscored that U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone's injunction "is temporary and based on limited evidence."
Last week, Abbott authorized Department of Public Safety troopers to "stop any vehicle upon reasonable suspicion" that it transports migrants, then either impound the vehicle or reroute it back to its point of origin. Abbott portrayed his most recent order as a way to limit the spread of COVID-19 amid an influx of migrants at the Texas-Mexico border, but the Justice Department argued stopping contractors from moving migrants from crowded processing facilities would actually make the pandemic worse. Cardone agreed, saying Abbott's directive risked "exacerbating the spread of COVID-19."
"Critics have accused Abbott, who is up for a third term in 2022, of trying to deflect blame for Texas' rapidly surging COVID-19 numbers on migrants as he rejects calls to reinstate mask mandates and other pandemic restrictions," The Associated Press reports. "On Tuesday, Texas surpassed 7,000 hospitalized virus patients for the first time since February and reported more than 11,000 new cases." It has been "very clear that the state was advancing an anti-immigrant agenda rather than concerns for border residents," said Fernando García, executive director for the Border Network for Human Rights.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Abbott has been amassing state troopers and National Guard personnel at the border, using emergency declarations and state-funded border fences to arrest migrants on trespassing charges. "Though DPS officers have increasingly been in the region for months, largely targeting human and drug trafficking, troopers have now turned their attention to jailing migrants on low-level state offenses," The Texas Tribune reports. "The number of arrests could swell into the thousands, and local officials are scrambling for resources while immigration rights activists are raising questions about the practice's constitutionality."
Those arrested are charged at makeshift processing facilities in compliant counties and sent to a state prison emptied to house migrants. The initial implementation of Abbott's "rapidly assembled border security operation" has been characterized by "chaos and confusion," the Tribune reports.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
July 5 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Saturday’s political cartoons include an extrajudicial detainment camp, 'alligator Alcatraz', and tax cuts for billionaires.
-
5 explosively funny cartoons about the 4th of July
Cartoons Artists take on liberty and justice for all, a terrifying firework, and more
-
Jeff in Venice: a "triumph of tackiness"?
In the Spotlight Locals protest as Bezos uses the city as a 'private amusement park' for his wedding celebrations
-
Judge blocks Trump's asylum ban at US border
Speed Read The president violated federal law by shutting down the US-Mexico border to asylum seekers, said the ruling
-
Thai court suspends prime minister over leaked call
Speed Read Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has been suspended, pending an ethics investigation
-
Senate passes GOP megabill after Alaska side deal
The pivotal yes vote came from Sen. Lisa Murkowski, whose support was secured following negotiated side deals for her home state Alaska
-
How would the Trump administration denaturalize immigrant citizens?
Today's Big Question Using civil courts lowers the burden of proof
-
Trump sues LA over immigration policies
Speed Read He is suing over the city's sanctuary law, claiming it prevents local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities
-
Obama, Bush and Bono eulogize USAID on final day
Speed Read The US Agency for International Development, a humanitarian organization, has been gutted by the Trump administration
-
Are masked ICE agents America's new secret police?
Today's Big Question Critics say masks undermine trust in law enforcement
-
The last words and final moments of 40 presidents
The Explainer Some are eloquent quotes worthy of the holders of the highest office in the nation, and others... aren't