Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk of the Northern District of Texas stopped President Joe Biden’s administration from ending the Trump-era Remain in Mexico policy, setting up another court battle over the immigration policy.
Remain in Mexico, formally known as the Migrant Protection Protocol, “allows the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to quickly return border crossers to Mexico while they await their asylum and immigration hearings in the United States — effectively eliminating the practice commonly known as ‘Catch and Release,’” as Breitbart News explained.
Kacsmaryk’s decision on Thursday came several months after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the Biden administration did not violate the Immigration and Nationality Act when it sought to end the Remain in Mexico policy.
However, the Supreme Court left open the possibility that the district court had the power to vacate the administration’s ending of the program.
Kacsmaryk’s decision stays a Biden administration policy memo from October that attempted to terminate the Remain in Mexico policy “until the Court can resolve the merits of Plaintiffs’ claims.”
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (2R) and Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt (2L) speak to reporters in front of the US Supreme Court in Washington, DC, on April 26, 2022. The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Tuesday in the Biden v. Texas case, which will determine if the Biden administration must continue to enforce a Trump-era program known as the Remain in Mexico policy. (STEFANI REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who led the lawsuit against the Biden administration over its attempt to end Remain in Mexico, praised Kacsmaryk’s decision.
“I sued Biden nearly 2 yrs. ago to keep Remain-in-Mexico. The Admin played games all the way to SCOTUS, but tonight Texas & USA WINS,” Paxton tweeted. “I just secured an order from a federal court ordering Biden not to scrap the program. Biden’s open-border agenda won’t survive my legal attacks.”
I sued Biden nearly 2 yrs. ago to keep Remain-in-Mexico. The Admin played games all the way to SCOTUS, but tonight Texas & USA WINS.
I just secured an order from a federal court ordering Biden not to scrap the program.
Biden’s open-border agenda won’t survive my legal attacks.
— Attorney General Ken Paxton (@KenPaxtonTX) December 16, 2022
With Remain in Mexico back to being litigated in the judicial branch, the policy could become a critical issue for the 2024 presidential election cycle, as the case may go back up to the Supreme Court.
The case is Texas v. Biden, No. 2:21-cv-00067-Z in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas.
Jordan Dixon-Hamilton is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jdixonhamilton@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter.
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