Texas Sues Biden Admin over Policy Loosening Restrictions on Illegal

Texas Sues Biden Admin over Policy Loosening Restrictions on Illegal Immigrants Seeking Welfare Benefits

Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing the Biden administration over its changes to a policy that will allow illegal immigrants to more easily obtain welfare benefits.

President Joe Biden’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) implemented changes to the rule Dec. 23 to no longer consider certain nutrition, health and housing benefits when deciding whether a noncitizen can legally stay in the country, according to DHS. Paxton is requesting not just action in a Texas court, but is also asking that the Supreme Court intervene, he announced Thursday.

The policy has meant that noncitizens who are considered a “public charge” face potential inadmissibility and denial of Green Card status. Before Biden took office, then-President Donald Trump sought to increase restrictions as part of the policy.

“The Biden Administration is committed to opening the borders to aliens who lack the ability to take care of themselves. Texans should not have to pay for these costly immigrants, nor should any other American,” Paxton said in a statement Thursday.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) continues to encounter a record number of illegal immigrants at the U.S.-Mexico border. In fiscal year 2022, the agency encountered a record of more than 2.3 million migrants at the southern border. Biden will travel for the first time to the area Sunday, when he travels to El Paso, Texas, which is where federal authorities recently encountered more than 2,500 illegal immigrants a day.

“I will continue to defend the rule of law and fight to ensure that the massive costs of illegal immigration don’t further burden taxpayers,” Paxton said.

The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.