As if the country wasn’t already divided enough, 20 states are now suing President Biden over his midnight release of $1.9 trillion in stimulus money.
The lawsuit, which was filed in federal court on Monday, claims that the release violates the Constitution’s spending clause and Separation of Powers doctrine.
The states that are involved in the lawsuit are Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming.
All of these states are led by Republican governors. The lawsuit argues that the release of the stimulus money “exceeds Congress’s enumerated powers and thus violates the Constitution.” It also claims that the president does not have the authority to release the funds without congressional approval.
“The executive branch does not have unlimited power to spend money,” said Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. “President Biden’s decision to ignore Congress and unilaterally spend trillions of dollars is unconstitutional and a direct assault on our system of government.”
Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves echoed Paxton’s sentiments, saying that “the rule of law still matters in America.” “No one is above the law – not even the President of the United States,” Reeves said. “We will not allow this unprecedented power grab to go unchallenged.”
The lawsuit is just the latest development in an ongoing battle between Democrats and Republicans over stimulus money. Last week, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said that he would only support a smaller stimulus package than what Biden has proposed. McConnell’s comments came after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she was open to negotiating a smaller package.
Fox News was the first to report:
: A coalition of 20 states and a top conservative legal group are suing the Biden administration over its recently expanded humanitarian parole program that allows tens of thousands of migrants from designated countries a month into the U.S., arguing that the program is unlawful.
The lawsuit, filed by Texas and America First Legal in the Southern District of Texas, is joined by 19 additional states who are seeking to block the Biden administration’s parole program, which allow up to 30,000 migrants from Haiti, Nicaragua, Cuba and Venezuela into the U.S. each month.
The Biden administration announced the program for Venezuelans in October, which allowed a limited number to fly directly into the U.S. as long as they had not entered illegally, had a sponsor in the U.S. already and passed certain checks.
Earlier this month, President Joe Biden announced that the program would be expanding to include Haitians, Nicaraguans and Cubans and that the program would allow up to 30,000 a month into the U.S. It allows for migrants to receive work permits and a two-year authorization to live in the U.S. and was announced alongside an expansion of Title 42 expulsions to include those nationalities.
“We anticipate this action is going to substantially reduce the number of people attempting to cross our southwest border without going through a legal process,” he said.
“We can provide humanitarian relief consistent with our values, cut out vicious smuggling organizations, and enforce our laws,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement. “Individuals without a legal basis to remain in the United States will be subject to prompt expulsion or removal. Individuals who are provided a safe, orderly, and lawful path to the United States are less likely to risk their lives traversing thousands of miles in the hands of ruthless smugglers, only to arrive at our southern border and face the legal consequences of unlawful entry.”
In the lawsuit led by Texas and America First Legal, the plaintiffs argue that the program is illegal given the “exceptionally limited” parole power available to the federal government. They note that up to 360,000 migrants could be allowed into the U.S. a year.
The lawsuit focuses on the limits placed on parole by Congress that says the authority is to be used on a “case-by-case basis for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit” — a standard that the lawsuit says the program fails to meet.
“The parole program established by the Department fails each of the law’s three limiting factors. It is not case-by-case, is not for urgent humanitarian reasons, and advances no significant public benefit. Instead, it amounts to the creation of a new visa program that allows hundreds of thousands of aliens to enter the United States who otherwise have no basis for doing so. This flouts, rather than follows, the clear limits imposed by Congress,” the lawsuit reads.
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