Court Denies Biden Administration’s Effort to Dis­miss Texas Law­suit Against Uncon­sti­tu­tion­al Asy­lum Rule

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s lawsuit against the Biden Administration’s “asylum rule” will move forward after a court denied the federal government’s attempt to dismiss the case.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Asylum Rule transfers authority given by Congress away from immigration judges to asylum officers. This rule violates both the statutory system Congress established as well as the Appointments Clause of the Constitution. The federal government moved to dismiss the suit by claiming that Texas did not have standing to sue. The court rejected the Administration’s claims and allowed Texas’s lawsuit to continue, a significant development that provides a precedent for other courts to find that Texas has standing to challenge the Biden Administration’s unlawful immigration policies.

This case offers a rare opportunity to litigate the application of the Appointments Clause of the Constitution, which states that Congress may only vest the power to appoint “inferior Officers . . . in the President alone, the Courts of Law, or the Heads of Departments.” By attempting to use asylum officers to do the job Congress delegated to immigration judges, the Biden Administration is once again attempting to exceed the boundaries placed by the Constitution to advance its open borders policy.

“It is tremendously important for Texas and for our Constitutional order that this case is allowed to move forward,” said Attorney General Paxton. “The Biden Administration must not be permitted to ignore Congress and violate the Constitution. We take every opportunity to hold Biden accountable for his unlawful overreach.” 

America First Legal (“AFL”) is serving as co-counsel. “This is an important victory in our fight to end Joe Biden’s radical plan to convert the border into a citizenship manufacturing facility,” said AFL President, Stephen Miller. “We will not relent in this fight. It is our honor to work with Attorney General Paxton and to represent the great State of Texas in the legal battle against Joe Biden’s invasion.”

To read the order, click here.