El Paso, Texas judge stops Gov. Greg Abbott’s actions to arrest migrants

EL PASO – El Paso, Texas federal judge Kathlee Cardone granted a temporary restriction earlier this week to curb an executive order issued by Texas Governor Greg Abbott to allow state troopers to stop vehicles with migrants on board.

The governor’s goal is to stop migrants because they are considered people who may be infected with Covid-19, which is why they would be responsible for spreading the virus among the Texas community.

According to the judge, the decision was made to stop this order because the governor’s action conflicts with federal immigration law and violates the supremacy clause of the United States Constitution.

What the governor intends with this is that the Texas Department of Public Safety (TPD) can stop those vehicles that seem suspicious of transporting migrants.

Cardone felt that Abbott’s decision would have an effect of exacerbating the spread of the coronavirus and scheduled another hearing for next week.

The United States Department of Justice also mentioned in a document that “Texas does not indicate any data that indicates that citizens released from Customs and Border Protection custody have a higher rate of Covid-19 than other travelers.”

Faced with the halt on the Texas actions, which are valid until august 13, Abbott Press Secretary, Renae Eze, issued a statement in which they indicated that they disagreed with the Federal government.

He assured that the Court’s order is based on limited evidence and this government works to provide data and arguments that support its actions to protect the Texas community. 

Far from caring for Texans, “the Biden Administration has knowingly and deliberately released Covid-19 positive migrants into state communities” and they represent a source of infection for citizens.

Regarding this situation, Fernando García, executive director of the Border Network for Human Rights, described this temporary measure as positive.

In addition, he said that this type of action shows clear hypocrisy on the part of Abbott, since it detains migrants without knowing if they are infected, but prohibits preventive health measures against Covid-19, such as not allowing the use of masks in schools now that face-to-face classes have resumed.

Notably, the judge’s decision can also be seen as a short-term victory for President Joe Biden, who claimed that Abbott’s actions were not solutions, but rather creating more problems.