A federal judge in Texas has issued a ruling that blocks a Biden administration regulation allowing immigration judges to close deportation cases indefinitely. This decision came on the same day Texas initiated a lawsuit against the new rule.
Implemented in 2024, the regulation permitted immigration judges to terminate deportation proceedings after hearing arguments from both the federal government and the immigrant, particularly if the individual could qualify for legal residency benefits.
On Monday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit in the Northern District of Texas in Wichita Falls to challenge this regulation, presenting the case to U.S. Judge Reed O’Connor, who was appointed by former President George W. Bush.
The lawsuit, co-filed by America First Legal Foundation—an organization established by Stephen Miller, a senior adviser to President Trump known for advocating stricter immigration policies—targets the U.S. Department of Justice. This group has previously collaborated with Paxton to contest various Biden administration immigration initiatives, significantly impacting the president’s immigration agenda during his term.
In the 43-page lawsuit, Paxton’s office contended that the Biden administration’s rule “effectively grants indefinite amnesty to aliens illegally present in this country.”
While legal disputes often take months or even years to resolve, Judge O’Connor made a swift ruling late on Monday, siding with Texas after the Department of Justice expressed agreement with Paxton’s position.
Neither Paxton’s office nor the DOJ responded immediately to requests for comments on the ruling.
Former President Trump has made significant strides in restricting immigration, leveraging federal resources to expedite deportations of undocumented individuals and others previously granted temporary status by prior administrations.
Judge O’Connor has garnered a reputation among conservative leaders for consistently ruling in favor of Paxton, who has strategically filed lawsuits against both the Obama and Biden administrations.
This rapid conclusion to the case mirrors a similar situation from last year when the DOJ filed a lawsuit against Texas over a law that allowed undocumented students to access lower tuition rates at public universities. Shortly after the lawsuit was initiated, Texas requested Judge O’Connor to deem the law unconstitutional, which he subsequently did.
The swift resolution of this case has drawn criticism from immigration law experts. Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, expressed outrage, stating, “This is madness! Deliberate collusion with a federal judge to rapidly erase regulations without any input from affected parties. It’s clearly an unlawful act by all, and now litigants will have to seek to intervene in the already-completed lawsuit to overturn his actions.”
The Texas Tribune Festival is set to feature an impressive lineup of speakers, including Kevin Stitt, Sherrilyn Ifill, Mitch Little, Imani Perry, Ron Nirenberg, Carla Espinoza-Grcic, Karl Rove, Elisa Villanueva Beard, Avi Loeb, and Joanna Lydgate, from September 24-26 in downtown Austin.
