U.S. District Judge Drew Tipton blocked President Joe Biden’s 100-day deportation freeze. Judge Tipton deemed it going against federal law and risks imposed costs on the state. Though this ruling does not issue for deportations to begin at the same rate, it has some flexibility to be able to enforce removals or process removals. Biden proposed this pause during his campaign in an attempt to reverse the Trump administration immigration policies. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement have deported 15 people to Jamaica and 269 to Honduras and Guatemala. 

The White House on Friday reissued a statement saying it believed a moratorium was “wholly appropriate,” adding that “President Biden remains committed to taking immediate action to reform our immigration system to ensure it’s upholding American values while keeping our communities safe.”

Despite Biden’s promise to halt deportations, he deported hundreds in the early days of his term. This has caused many people to protest who oppose his stance on deportations. Organized protests interrupted Biden’s campaign event in South Carolina demanding for him to stop deportations. Protesters were disappointed with the similarities of his immigration policies of the Obama administration that deported millions and started the detention centers. Biden has refused to publicly state any opposition to Obama despite his promises to undo the policies that the Obama administration put in place such as the family detention centers. 

“It’s important that President Biden and Vice President Harris realize that despite their very clear desires about how immigrants are treated, we continue to see on a local level immigrants being mistreated and disregarded,” Melissa Lopez, executive director of the nonprofit Diocesan Migrant & Refugee Services stated.

In El Paso, Texas authorities deported a woman, Rosa, who was a witness of the 2019 Walmart massacre that left 22 people dead. She agreed to testify against the gunman and met with a local attorney, but Rosa got pulled over because of a broken taillight and was detained because of previous traffic warrants before she was able to reach her attorney. ICE issued her as a detainee

which gave her attorney time to get documentation for Rosa to possibly receive a visa for crime victims, but in her statement stated she was not a victim of the Walmart massacre.

“My concern is that ICE will continue to move quickly before the Biden administration has an opportunity to make assessments and provide further directives,” Democratic U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar of Texas stated.