AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A federal judge has ordered Texas to not allow state troopers to stop vehicles carrying migrants on the grounds that they may spread COVID-19.
The temporary restraining order handed down Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone comes as worries and new cases are rising along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott last week had authorized Texas’ growing presence of state troopers along the border to “stop any vehicle upon reasonable suspicion” that it transports migrants.
The Biden administration accused Abbott of potentially worsening the spread of COVID-19.
It argued that impeding the transfer of migrants would prolong the detention of unaccompanied children in “increasingly crowded” facilities.