Ken Paxton, the very corrupt Republican attorney general of Texas, doesn’t want any immigrants here, period. We know this because he has filed a lawsuit seeking to block an immigration program that legally brings Central American children to the U.S. to reunite with parents who are already here and have legal status. Not only does the policy help facilitate family reunification, but it also allows a child to avoid the often dangerous journey north.

The Central American Minors (CAM) program had initially been created under the Obama administration but was terminated by his fascist successor. President Biden announced earlier this year that CAM would be reinstated, with applications that were closed due to the program’s 2017 termination to be prioritized. It’s a smart, and humane program that has allowed thousands of kids to embrace their parents again. So Texas and seven other Republican-led states want it shut down.

“Paxton and the other attorneys general argue that Biden, a Democrat, lacks authority to institute the program without authorization from Congress,” Houston Chronicle reports. Joining Paxton in the litigation are Arkansas, Alaska, Florida, Indiana, Missouri, Montana, and Oklahoma.

The lawsuit further claims that one of the states suing, Oklahoma, “sits close to the southern border of the United States and sits on the Interstate 35 and Interstate 44 corridors, which serve as major arteries for the illegal immigration that CAM encourages and for related illegal drug traffic.” But this appears to be complete bullshit. 

“To my knowledge (which may be a month or two out of date), ZERO children have been admitted yet through the newly reactivated Central American Minors Program,” tweeted American Immigration Council policy counsel Aaron Reichlin-Melnick. Nor is CAM well known, either. “Yet Ken Paxton claims it’s one of the reasons people are coming to the border. What nonsense,” Reichlin-Melnick continued.

It’s all fucking cruel nonsense, yet the reason Paxton is suing is that he can—and he expects to win. 

Houston Chronicle notes this is the ninth immigration lawsuit Paxton has filed against the president. Just days into his administration, Paxton successfully blocked the much-sought 100-day deportation moratorium. In April, he sued for the reinstatement of the inhumane Remain in Mexico policy, and won that too. Both decisions were thanks to right-wing judges installed by the fascistic former president.

“The American judicial system has become an anti-immigrant judicial pipeline—and it’s on full display, and it’s dangerous,” former American Immigration Lawyers Association president David Leopold wrote in August. “The pipeline flows from Republican attorneys general, to hand-picked United States District Court Judges (usually Trump appointees in Texas), to the conservative Fifth Circuit and finally, to the United States Supreme Court.” He names Paxton as a main culprit in this scheme.

“There’s really one way around this pipeline: Prioritize federal district and circuit court nominations and expand the Supreme Court,” he continued. “The risk is worth taking because the stakes are … well, everything,” Daily Kos’ Joan McCarter wrote last month.

Paxton’s latest lawsuit is particularly cruel in that he’s targeting children and saying making a dangerous journey alone is their only option. The State Department said in March that nearly 5,000 were safely reunited with families in the U.S. during the life of the program. Nearly 3,000 were set to be reunited before the previous administration shut down the policy. But in targeting a program seeking to expand lawful pathways, Paxton and Republican states are also admitting they don’t want immigrants to come here legally, either.

RELATED: Biden reinstates Obama-era program that allowed Central American kids to join parents in U.S.

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