States sue US government over immigration policy

Twenty states with Republican attorneys general sued the Joe Biden administration on Tuesday over a major change in immigration policy that would return more immigrants but allow legal entry for 360,000 people a year from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Texas, accuses the Biden administration of “arbitrarily” creating the recent changes and exceeding its authority. Among the plaintiffs is Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who has previously successfully temporarily halted new federal government immigration rules.

The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit.

The changes Biden announced this month represent his most drastic move yet to deal with the influx of immigrants, which has skyrocketed since he took office two years ago. The four nationalities Biden targeted now make up the majority of migrants crossing the border illegally.

During the fiscal year that ended on September 30, more than 2.38 million migrant apprehensions were made at the southern border, which marks the first time that the count has exceeded 2 million. The administration has had a difficult time clamping down on the crossings, reluctant to take hardline measures that would resemble those of the Trump administration.