Texas Launches Support Campaign In Favor Of Trump’s Immigration Ban

Texas became the first state to come out for Donald Trump’s controversial immigration ban which has been suspended by the federal courts pending potential further review.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton expressed his state’s support for the immigration and refugee ban, which halts immigration from seven predominantly Muslim nations, temporarily suspends the refugee program in general for a limited time, and indefinitely for Syria. Paxton urged the 9th Court of Appeals, which upheld the suspension of the Trump ban, to reconsider their ruling.

According to the Washington Post, “Like every other State in the Union, amicus has a significant interest in protecting its residents’ safety,” Paxton wrote in regards to Trump’s ban. “But the State itself possesses no authority to set the terms and conditions of entry for aliens seeking to enter the United States, or to restrict the entry of such aliens for foreign-affairs, public-safety, or national-security reasons. Instead, the State relies on the federal Executive Branch to carry out that function, pursuant to the laws of Congress.”

Texas is the first state to express official support for the controversial executive order. At least 21 other states have come out against the ban, with some such as Washington arguing that the order was a violation of the First Amendment. The claim is based that the ban was targeted specifically at Muslims, which would violate the Constitution by showing favor/disfavor towards any particular religion.

Texas also got involved back in the Obama administration in the ongoing battle over immigration. In this case, Texas successfully led a block of Republican controlled states in halting Obama’s plan to provide legal status for millions of undocumented immigrants in the United States illegally.

At the time, Paxton apparently held a different standard regarding the expansion or use of presidential executive action in regards to immigration. The Washinton Post reports “Today’s decision keeps in place what we have maintained from the very start: One person, even a president, cannot unilaterally change the law…. This is a major setback to President Obama’s attempts to expand executive power and a victory for those who believe in the separation of powers and the rule of law.”

Of note in both the Trump and Obama cases is the law currently in the US Codes. Cornell University Law School’s record of it states “Whenever the President finds that the entry of any aliens or of any class of aliens into the United States would be detrimental to the interests of the United States, he may by proclamation, and for such period as he shall deem necessary, suspend the entry of all aliens or any class of aliens as immigrants or nonimmigrants, or impose on the entry of aliens any restrictions he may deem to be appropriate.”

The ongoing battle over Trump’s immigration ban may eventually make it to the Supreme Court, but at present, the administration appears to be pursuing different avenues of attack. A hung verdict in the Supreme Court, likely due to the split vote of the remaining eight members, would leave the lower courts’ injunctions in place. Another method Trump may utilize is simply reissuing the executive order with the changes needed to ensure the unconstitutionality arguments against the current order so that the new action will pass.

Business Insider noted an interesting point arising from Texas’ case against the Obama regime. “A major question in that litigation was whether Texas had legal standing to sue, an issue that the Supreme Court did not resolve. In Wednesday’s brief, Texas did not address whether Washington and other states had standing to sue over Trump’s ban.”

The battle over Trump’s controversial immigration ban will continue for the foreseeable future. Whatever avenues the president may take to implement his campaign promises, at least in regards to the immigration ban, Donald Trump has a strong supporter in Texas.

So what are your thoughts on Texas’ support of the immigration ban? Tell us what you think in the comments section below!

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