The attorney general of the state of Texas, Ken Paxton, filed a lawsuit to prevent President Joe Biden from moving to stop some deportations of illegal immigrants temporarily for a period of 100 days, in a move that sparked negative reactions from some Republicans.
Criticism of Biden's decision
This came according to a statement issued Friday, January 22, 2021, by Paxton, in which he clarified that he had filed the aforementioned case before one of the federal courts in the country.
Paxton considered that the executive order that Biden signed upon assuming his official post last Wednesday, "is a violation of US immigration law," as he put it.
Paxton added, "The Biden administration directed the Department of Homeland Security to violate the Federal Immigration Act, and breach the Consultation and Cooperation Agreement with Texas on that law."
The Attorney General also pointed out that Texas is the most American state that shares borders with Mexico, and that if the relevant law against illegal immigrants is not regularly applied, this will expose citizens and law enforcement forces to danger.
The Biden had Wednesday's January 20, 2021, a number of executive orders, which cancels previous decisions had been taken by the former President of Donald Trump, during his tenure.
Among the most prominent decisions Biden signed, along with suspending the deportation of immigrants, were to return to the Paris climate agreement and end travel bans on some Muslim-majority countries.
Also, in sharp contrast to the policies of former Republican President Trump, hours after he was sworn in as the new president of the United States, Joe Biden announced an immigration bill that would allow millions of illegal immigrants to obtain US citizenship.
The issue of immigrants in America
The Biden administration showed some indications before the latter assumed the presidency of adopting a less strict policy towards immigrants in the country. The British newspaper , citing US media reports, stated that the Biden administration intends to stop calling immigrants to America "illegal aliens" (aliens). And as part of a comprehensive immigration bill proposed by the Biden administration in his first two days in office.
The British newspaper said that the term "illegal / legal foreigner" has long been used in US immigration laws, despite the condemnation of activists and human rights defenders as an insult. In addition, the language has become more common under the Trump administration.
However, in a step towards consolidating the definition of America as a "nation of immigrants" and unifying the country, Biden suggested abandoning this term in laws and replacing it with the term "non-citizens" in the bill, according to CNN.
In support of the decision, Jose Antonio Vargas, founder of Define American, an organization dedicated to further humanizing debates about immigrants and whose founder has called for more accurate formulations and depictions of immigrants in the public sphere, described it as a fundamental change in the right direction.
Also in this context, Biden's ambitious proposal, which was unveiled as he formally assumed power, seeks to grant legal status and an official path to citizenship for anyone who arrived in the United States before January 1, 2021.
It is reported that during his candidacy, Biden was describing Trump's immigration measures as a "violent attack" on American values, and said he would "nullify this damage" without failing to protect borders.