US Federal Judge Blocked Troopers in Texas from Stopping Migrant Vehicles

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A US federal judge has blocked Texas from allowing state troopers to stop vehicles carrying migrants on the grounds that they may spread Covid-19 as worries and new cases are rising along the US-Mexico border. US District Judge Kathleen Cardone issued a temporary order and considered a short-term victory for the Biden administration. However, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s plan would create more problems following high levels of summer border crossings in Texas, particularly in the Rio Grande Valley. The local officials have rebuffed Abbott’s hardline immigration actions to jail border crossers and build new barriers declared a local state of disaster this week. Cardone said Abbott’s directive would have the effect of exacerbating the spread of COVID-19. She scheduled another hearing for next week.

Abbott’s office issued a statement and said, “The Court’s recent order is temporary and based on limited evidence. We look forward to providing the Court with the evidence to support the Governor’s Executive Order to protect Texans. The Biden Administration has knowingly and willfully released Covid-19 positive migrants into Texas communities. It is risking the potential exposure and infection of Texas residents. The Governor’s Executive Order attempts to avoid the Biden Administration from spreading Covid-19 into Texas and protect the health and safety of Texans. The Biden administration is also raising concerns about the much more contagious delta variant as large numbers of noncitizens to continue arriving at Texas’ southern border. The CDC also renewed emergency powers that allow federal authorities to expel families at the border on grounds to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

The US Justice Department criticized Abbott for potentially worsening the spread of Covid-19. The department said in court filings that impeding the transfer of migrants would prolong the detention of unaccompanied children in increasingly crowded facilities. Hidalgo County Judge Richard Cortez is the top elected official in the Rio Grande Valley’s largest county. He said that typically about 8% of migrants tested for Covid-19 were positive. Cortez said that number is now at 16% and roughly in line with Texas’ overall positivity rate of 17%. Cortez added, “It’s not getting better. It’s getting worse”. On Tuesday, Texas surpassed 7,000 hospitalized virus patients for the first time since February and reported more than 11,000 new cases. Last week, Abbott had authorized Texas’ growing presence of state troopers along the border to stop any vehicle upon reasonable suspicion that it transports migrants.