Republican state attorney generals are taking an aggressive stance to sue the Biden administration for its southern border policies. They also considered themselves “the last line of defense,” striking the Democratic regime’s policies on different fonts before Biden hits 100 days in office.
Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich told Fox News in an interview, “Republican attorneys general are the last line of defense. I would submit to you that they have been not only the last line of defense but the first line of offense.”
Brnovich has produced different suits or filed motions to intervene to pause Biden administration policies. This includes three policies that are focused on immigration.
In March, Arizona, leading a multistate coalition filed to intervene in a suit against the Biden administration to force it to abide by the public charge rule.
Arizona is also suing the Biden administration for basicallyb stopping deportation of migrants. In April, the third piece of litigation turns the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) against the Democratic administration.
I am looking forward to joining these lawsuits seeking to prevent federal overreach. We must have reliable energy and secure borders. https://t.co/f9eO0Asy0x
— Jason Miyares (@JasonMiyaresVA) April 26, 2021
Brnovich said, “It is the pinnacle of hypocrisy for the Biden administration to claim it supports protecting our environment while simultaneously ignoring laws established for that very purpose.” He added that each migrant who crosses the border leaves behind 6 to 8 pounds of trash.
“The left for years has used NEPA to stop development and highways and all sorts of projects while they wait for an environmental impact study,” Brnovich said.
In order to push back against the Biden administration, the Republican Attorneys General Association has brought together attorneys general from the border and non-border states.
Executive director of Republican Attorneys Association, Peter Bisbee told Fox News in an interview, “The key thing is the states are being very aggressive right now. If there’s something unconstitutional that a state can challenge, it’s going to challenge it in court.”
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Florida Attorney General Ashley Moddy also led similar lawsuits. This includes Paxton’s suit against the Biden administration for allegedly encouraging the spread of COVID-19 at the border by allowing massive numbers of migrants into the country, often into overcrowded facilities.
They already won some suits.
A federal judge temporarily blocked President Biden’s attempt to put a moratorium on deportations for 100 days.https://t.co/XeC19wBjYr
— Trinity (@Trinity_Aus) January 27, 2021
In January, a federal judge temporarily blocked Biden’s attempt to put a halt on deportations for 100 days after Texas filed suit.
These types of court battles could take time to play out. However, with Democrats in control of Congress, several Republican state attorney general feel that taking action is the only way on how things will get done.
Bisbee said, “If you’re able to score a nationwide injunction on a policy, it is stopping it in its tracks. The one thing it does every time you challenge policy from the federal government … resources are going to have to be shifted to defend what they’re doing in court.”
He continued, “Agencies … are now having to shift to the defensive and explain why what they’re doing is constitutional. That allows the opportunity for that agenda to be whittled away piece by piece. It’s not rapid … but the seeds become sown for these policies to slowly dissolve.”
Brnovich also added that he will use all “the tools in my toolbox” to combat Biden’s border policies that affect his state and the nation.
He added, “This isn’t just an Arizona problem. When you have an estimated two million people crossing, that is like the entire state of Nebraska. Lots of elected officials … talk the talk but they never walk the walk. I think it’s important that we have officials that understand that it’s not enough to say we have a crisis, we have to do something about it.”
