In a surprising turn of events, a judge appointed by former President Donald Trump has supported one of President Joe Biden’s immigration policies in a recent ruling on Friday.
U.S. District Judge Drew Tipton has issued a ruling against Texas and 20 other Republican-led states who were challenging a Biden administration program. The program allows up to 30,000 migrants seeking asylum from four countries to enter the U.S. on an emergency basis every month.
The program is open to eligible migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. To participate, applicants must have a sponsor in the United States and make their own travel arrangements by air to reach the country.
As of November 2023, the program has been utilized by around 234,000 migrants. Each approved individual is granted a parole period of up to two years to stay in the United States.
In January 2023, Republican state leaders, spearheaded by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, initiated a lawsuit aiming to invalidate the program. Their argument centered around the belief that the policy infringed upon immigration law and had adverse effects on their respective states by exacerbating legal immigration.
Judge Tipton, who was nominated by Trump in 2020 to serve on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, issued a ruling on Friday. According to his decision, Texas does not have the legal standing to bring the lawsuit and failed to prove that it was harmed by the program.
According to the judge, both the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Republican states have acknowledged that the program has seen a significant decrease in the number of migrants entering the country, with a reduction of up to 44 percent.
According to Tipton, the plaintiffs are unable to show that they have been harmed by the Program. As a result, they do not have the legal standing to bring these claims. It is important to note that Tipton’s ruling does not address the legality of the policy itself.
According to Tipton, the Plaintiffs were unable to provide sufficient evidence to support their claim that Texas has suffered an injury. As a result, the Court determined that they lack the standing to proceed with the lawsuit.
In January 2021, just days after Biden assumed office, Tipton, who had a track record of opposing Biden’s immigration policies, ruled against the administration. As a result of Paxton’s lawsuit, the judge invalidated the new policy implemented by the administration, which aimed to temporarily halt the deportation of certain migrants.
Tipton argued that the potential harm to the Defendants is outweighed by the threat of injury to Texas. He also stated that the arguments put forth by DHS in support of the deportation freeze were not persuasive.
In an 8-1 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court ultimately overturned Tipton’s ruling on appeal, stating that the judge lacked jurisdiction to invalidate the policy. Justice Samuel Alito was the sole dissenter in this decision.
