Logo

The state of Texas filed suit Friday seeking to block President Joe Biden’s 100-day freeze on deportations, claiming it violated an agreement the state signed with the Trump administration earlier this month, officials announced.

“I told @DHSgov and @JoeBiden last night to rescind its deportation freeze, which is unconstitutional, illegal, and bad for Texas and the nation,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a tweet Friday. “They didn’t budge. So #Texas is bringing them to court.”

After Biden was sworn in as president on Wednesday, the Department of Homeland Security “ordered a halt of nearly all deportations of illegal aliens including those whose removal was ordered following a full and fair hearing and those who are not entitled — and do not claim to be entitled — to further immigration benefits,” the Texas Federal suit alleges.

Meanwhile, DHS signed an agreement with Texas on Jan. 8 to work together with the Lone Star State to carry out border security including consulting with the state before “taking any action or making any decision that could reduce immigration enforcement,” the court papers show.


  Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton called the freeze “unconstitutional” in a statement. AP Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton called the freeze “unconstitutional” in a statement. AP

The agreement also says that DHS will give the state 6-months notice before taking any action that is subject to consultation with Texas, the court documents show.

DHS signed similar agreements with other states including Arizona, Indiana, South Carolina, Alabama in December and January in an apparent effort to curb Biden’s plan to reduce deportations by focusing deportation efforts on illegal immigrants with serious criminal records and opening up new opportunities for asylum, BuzzFeed News reported.

The suit claims that the move could lead to a “blanket amnesty to illegal aliens that Congress has refused to pass time and time again.”

Further, the suit claims that “rushed” implementation of Biden’s plan could negatively impact the state budget, which for instance would now have to provide health care and education to additional immigrants, the court papers say.

The AG is asking a judge to issue a temporary restraining order pausing the deportation freeze while the case plays out in court. The suit ultimately seeks for a judge to nullify Biden’s deportation freeze altogether.

“In one of its first of dozens of steps that harm Texas and the nation as a whole, the Biden administration directed DHS to violate federal immigration law and breach an agreement to consult and cooperate with Texas on that law,” Paxton said in a prepared statement. “Our state defends the largest section of the southern border in the nation.”

“Failure to properly enforce the law will directly and immediately endanger our citizens and law enforcement personnel,” Paxton continued.

The White House did not immediately return a request for comment.

Additional reporting by Ebony Bowden

Comments
anonymous profile image
Powered by RoundtableBuilt on infrastructure designed for real-time media. Learn more at RTB.io.© Roundtable 2026. By using this site you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy