Topline
As he protects the US/Mexico border fence, a Border Patrol officer is seen sitting in his car. (Photo by...[+] Ariana Drehsler/AFP through Getty Images) AFP via Getty Images
The Key Facts
The lawsuit was filed in Texas federal court. It claims President Joe Biden illegally stopped Congress from using funds and halted construction on the wall. According to the Missouri and Texas attorneys general, states are forced to pay the bill for services such as public education and health care to undocumented immigrants by failing to use funds. Texas claims that Biden's refusal to spend the money forced the state of Texas to allocate $750 millions of its own funds to build border barriers. According to court documents, the lawsuit demands that the government spend the money appropriated for wall construction, reinstate cancelled contracts and pay the state legal fees. Forbes reached out to the White House and DHS for clarification but they did not respond immediately.
Big Number
$1.375 trillion According to the suit, that's the amount Congress has allocated in 2020 and 2021 for the construction of the southern border walls.
Important Background
Former President Trump's campaign was focused on building a wall at the southern border. Biden, however, promised that no other foot would be built during his presidency. Biden's first day as president, he issued an order that stopped the construction of barriers at the border. The lawsuit filed by Missouri and Texas joins many other legal actions brought forward by Republican states. The federal government was sued by George P. Bush, Texas Land Commissioner, for stopping construction of the wall. Arizona also filed suit accusing Biden not to have weighed the environmental consequences before he ordered construction to stop in April. (Environmental groups argue that building the border wall would be harmful to the environment.
Tangent
It is not the first time Texas has teamed up with Missouri to sue the Biden government. Biden's Department of Homeland security issued a memo shortly following his election stating that the department would stop using Trump-era policies that required migrants to remain in Mexico while asylum applications were processed in the United States. The two states sued Biden's Department of Homeland Security to restore the "Remain in Mexico" policy. In August, a federal judge issued an order that reversed Biden's cancellation. The Supreme Court ruled that the judge's order was valid 6-3.
Continue reading
Texas Officially Builds Its Own Border Wall (Forbes).
Texas George P. Bush Sues Biden Administration Over Border Wall Pause (Forbes)
