New Bill Would Give States Right to Sue Federal Government over Immigration

A new bill introduced in Congress would give individual states the authority to file lawsuits against the federal government over its ongoing failure to properly enforce immigration law.

As Just The News reports, the Standing Up to the Executive Branch for Immigration Enforcement Act, or “SUE for Immigration Enforcement Act,” was introduced by Congressmen Chip Roy (R-Texas) and Dan Bishop (R-N.C.). The bill, only six pages long, is still undergoing markup by the House Judiciary Committee before it can proceed to the House.

The bill was introduced after a ruling last July by the Supreme Court which determined that the states of Texas and Louisiana did not have the standing to sue over a policy implemented by Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Alejandro Mayorkas effectively ending the deportation of illegals. After a federal judge determined that the states did not have the authority to sue, the Supreme Court agreed with the judge’s assessment, without arguing the merits of the case itself. Notably, the judge did ultimately vacate Mayorkas’ deportation policy as unlawful.

The new bill would give state attorneys general the legal standing needed to sue DHS in the event that the federal government refuses to enforce immigration law, as the Biden Administration is currently doing. This would be done through an amendment to the Immigration and Nationality Act, and would allow states or residents to claim harm as a result of unenforced immigration policies, if they face financial costs exceeding $100. Courts would also be ordered to advance such cases and expedite any such civil action related to these cases.

In a statement, Roy said that such a bill was necessary because the Biden Administration “has consistently ignored the laws on the books that require operational control of our border in pursuit of an open-borders agenda, creating the invasion we have watched for years at our southern border.”

Bishop also gave a statement denouncing Biden and Mayorkas for “pursuing a disastrous open borders policy at any cost, including repeatedly and flagrantly violating federal immigration law,” and “relentlessly pursuing lawlessness, chaos, and destruction.”

Representatives Josh Brecheen (R-Okla.), Harriet Hageman (R-Wyo.), Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.), and Tom Tiffany (R-Wisc.) have signed onto the bill as cosponsors.

Mayorkas was impeached by the House of Representatives last week over his failure to enforce immigration laws, which has led to a historic surge in illegal immigration since Biden first took power. He was impeached on two articles of failure to comply with federal immigration law, and breach of the public trust. The first attempt to impeach Mayorkas failed due to House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) not being present due to health concerns; upon Scalise’s return the following week, the impeachment measure passed by one vote. Mayorkas is only the second Cabinet secretary in American history to be impeached, after Secretary of War William Belknap in 1876.