A federal judge erased a Biden immigration rule Monday. It was gone the same day Paxton sued to kill it.
The rule let immigration judges pause deportation cases. If someone in court might qualify to stay legally, a judge could put the case on hold. Biden made that rule in 2024.
Texas AG Ken Paxton sued to stop it. He joined with America First Legal Foundation. Stephen Miller started that group. Miller runs immigration policy for Trump. The case went to Judge Reed O'Connor in Wichita Falls. He was put on the bench by George W. Bush. He has ruled Paxton's way many times.
The DOJ was supposed to defend the rule. It did not. It filed a paper saying it agreed with Paxton. Hours later, O'Connor blocked the rule across the country.
Paxton called the Biden rule a form of "indefinite amnesty."
Lawyers who work on immigration cases said what happened was not normal.
"This is madness," said Aaron Reichlin-Melnick of the American Immigration Council. He called it "deliberate collusion with a federal judge." He said the government "rapidly erase(d) regulations without any input from affected parties." He added: "It's clearly an unlawful act by all."
He said people hurt by the ruling will have to fight to re-open the case.
This is not new. Last year Paxton and the DOJ teamed up to kill a Texas law. That law let students without papers pay lower tuition at state schools. That case also went to O'Connor. It was over the same day the lawsuit was filed. Legal experts said the speed raised questions about a deal between the state and the feds.
For the Rio Grande Valley, this hits home. Many people here had their deportation cases paused under the Biden rule. They were waiting on green cards or work visas. Those paused cases can now be reopened.
Trump has spent his second term rolling back Biden immigration rules. His team has reversed many policies that slowed down deportations.
The rule is blocked across the country. Legal groups are working on how to fight back.
Paxton's office and the DOJ did not respond to requests for comment.
