EL PASO, Texas — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott last week issued an executive order directing Department of Public Safety troopers to initiate traffic stops on vehicles suspected of transporting migrants.
Troopers were essentially told to use their best judgment when conducting the stops, and Abbott said the aim of the order is to prevent migrants from spreading COVID-19 in the state.
The order drew immediate backlash from Democrats and other critics. That was followed by a letter from Attorney General Merrick Garland urging Abbott to rescind the order.
“I urge you to immediately rescind Executive Order GA 3 7, entitled Relating to the transportation of migrants during the COVID-19 disaster,” Garland wrote. “The Order purports to mandate that ‘[n]o person, other than a federal, state, or local law-enforcement official, shall provide ground transportation to a group of migrants who have been detained by [U.S. Customs and Border Protection] for crossing the border illegally or who would have been subject to expulsion under the Title 42 order.; EO GA 37 if 1. As explained below, the Order is both dangerous and unlawful.”
A short time later, Abbot fired back at Garland.
“It is clear that the Biden Administration fundamentally misunderstands what is truly happening at the Texas-Mexico border,” Gov. Abbot wrote. “The current crisis at our southern border, including the overcrowding of immigration facilities and the devastating spread of COVID-19 that the influx of non-citizens is causing, is entirely the creation of the Biden Administration and its failed immigration policies.”
On Friday, the Department of Justice sued Texas, claiming the order could exacerbate problems amid the surge of crossings at the Texas-Mexico border.
The lawsuit was filed in federal court in El Paso.
Abbott’s order is a continuation of his hardline approach to border security. Abbott, who is up for re-election next year and is considered a viable presidential candidate, has vowed to complete the border wall started by former President Trump. He has rerouted state dollars to the project and is raising money via crowdsourcing.
Critics, including Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, have linkened Abbott's order to racial profiling.
Declarations submitted with the lawsuit offered fresh evidence of large numbers of migrants showing up at the border with Mexico, with senior officials warning that the governor's order could significantly impede transportation and other federal operations.
The Border Patrol's Rio Grande Valley sector, the busiest corridor for illegal crossings, had more than 8,300 migrants in custody Wednesday, with an average processing time of 57 hours, said Brian Hastings, the sector chief. The sector has released more than 100,000 migrants since Oct. 1, including 9,000 in the last week.
The Homeland Security Department reported that 646 children traveling alone were taken into custody across the Mexico border on Thursday, compared with a daily average of 480 over the previous 30 days.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.