Undo executive order

Garland urges Abbott to undo executive order aimed at curbing migration

The U.S. “intends to pursue all appropriate legal remedies" if the Texas order is not reversed.

By MAEVE SHEEHEY

Attorney General Merrick Garland urged Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to reverse his day-old executive order that aims to restrict migration at the border following a rise in Covid-19 cases.

The attorney general called Abbott’s order “both dangerous and unlawful” in a Thursday letter to the governor. “The Order violates federal law in numerous respects, and Texas cannot lawfully enforce the Executive Order against any federal official or private parties working with the United States,” Garland wrote.

The executive order, issued Wednesday, had the stated intention of “restricting ground transportation of migrants who pose a risk of carrying COVID-19 into Texas communities.” In it, Abbott ordered the Texas Department of Public Safety to stop and reroute vehicles suspected of violations.

Garland's letter also said Texas does not have authority to interfere with the federal government’s “broad, undoubted power over the subject of immigration.” The Texas governor, a potential 2024 Republican presidential candidate, has clashed with the U.S. government in the past on the topic of immigration, repeatedly berating the Biden administration’s border policies and recently saying the state will build a border wall on its own.

In the letter, Garland said if Abbott does not immediately rescind the order, the U.S. “intends to pursue all appropriate legal remedies to ensure that Texas does not interfere with the functions of the federal government.”

Among Garland’s stated concerns were that the order would jeopardize the health and safety of noncitizens in U.S. custody, that it would contribute to overcrowding in border facilities and that it would interfere with implementing federal immigration policy.