A judge in Texas has blocked officials from enforcing a dormant 1925 abortion ban that the US state’s Republican attorney general said was back in effect after the United States Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to the procedure nationwide.

Judge Christine Weems issued the temporary restraining order on Tuesday after a last-ditch effort by abortion providers to resume services after the Supreme Court overturned the landmark 1973 Roe v Wade ruling on Friday.

The order was confirmed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Center for Reproductive Rights, which represented the abortion providers. Abortion performed at up to the sixth week of pregnancy can now resume in Texas at some clinics, the legal groups said.

“Every hour that abortion is accessible in Texas is a victory,” Marc Hearron, a lawyer at the Center for Reproductive Rights, said in a statement.

“Every day that clinics can remain open will save countless people from the life-altering risks and consequences of forced pregnancy,” the ACLU also said on Twitter.

Texas last year enacted one of the nation’s most restrictive abortion bans, barring people from undergoing the procedure after six weeks of pregnancy – a point at which many do not know they are pregnant. That law, which also allows people to sue anyone who facilitates an abortion, took effect in September.

Tuesday’s decision came amid a flurry of litigation by abortion rights groups seeking to slow or halt Republican-backed restrictions on the ability of women to terminate pregnancies – restrictions that are now taking effect or are poised to do so in 22 states.

On Monday, a judge in the US state of Louisiana temporarily blocked a so-called “trigger” abortion ban from coming into effect, after an abortion clinic sued to allege the restrictions violated due process and were too vague.

Texas is one of more than a dozen US states that had such “trigger” laws on the books, which were designed to take effect after Roe was overturned.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issued an advisory note after the Supreme Court’s decision, saying the state’s 2021 trigger ban, which bars abortions almost entirely, would not take immediate effect. Providers say that could take two months or more.

But Paxton said that prosecutors could choose to immediately pursue criminal cases “based on violations of Texas abortion prohibitions predating Roe”.

“Although these statutes were unenforceable while Roe was on the books, they are still Texas law. Under these pre-Roe statutes, abortion providers could be criminally liable for providing abortions starting today,” his note read.

Meanwhile, abortion providers in Texas have said that if the laws are blocked, they will continue to provide services.

“We are already contacting patients on our waiting lists and working on resuming abortion services in all our 4 Texas clinics as quickly as possible,” Whole Woman’s Health, an independent abortion provider, said on Twitter on Tuesday afternoon.

“Keep in mind, Texas still enforces a two-visit requirement and a 24-hour waiting period, as well as the 6-week ban and other restrictions. Even with these obstacles, our clinic staff are ready and eager to welcome patients back,” the group said.

A further hearing is scheduled for July 12.

Paxton said on Tuesday afternoon that he planned to immediately appeal the judge’s “wrong” decision. “The judge’s decision is wrong. I’m immediately appealing. I’ll ensure we have all the legal tools to keep TX pro-life!” he tweeted.

Source: aljazeera

The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that President Joe Biden did not violate immigration law when the administration put an end to the Trump-era policy that allowed migrants to be sent back to Mexico to await immigration proceedings.

The 5-4 ruling in favor of the Biden administration move comes just days after a semi-truck full of migrants was found abandoned near San Antonio with 53 dead inside.

The Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) was put in place by Donald Trump to help quell the build-up of migrants at the border and throughout the country, as they were released pending immigration hearings.

Chief Justice John Roberts, a conservative, delivered the opinion taking the Biden administration’s side – he was joined by all three liberal justices as well as fellow conservative Brett Kavanuagh.

The dissenting opinion was written by conservative Justice Samuel Alito and was joined by the remaining conservative Justices Neil Gorsuch, Clarence Thomas, and Amy Coney Barrett.

Republicans immediately lashed out at the move, claiming an end to MPP will lead to an increase in illegal crossings, drug trafficking, and deadly human smuggling – including the incident on Monday where 53 migrants died in the back of a sweltering tractor-trailer.

Indiana GOP senator Mike Braun said that the Remain in Mexico policy worked to reduce the surge at the southern border. He specifically pointed to the efficacy of stopping Northern Triangle migrants from illegally crossing.

‘From day one, President Biden has tried to remove every tool we have to stop this chaos, hanging a ‘WELCOME’ sign on our southern border,’ Braun tweeted following the ruling on Thursday.

‘The result is more illegal border crossings, more deadly fentanyl on our streets, and more horrible humanitarian tragedies like the 50 migrants who died being smuggled across the border in a semi,’ he added.

‘We need Remain in Mexico for a secure border.’

Arizona Representative Andy Biggs, a border state lawmaker and huge Trump ally, said: ‘Terminating ‘Remain in Mexico’ will only make the crisis worse.’

‘Just because the Court says you can doesn’t mean you should,’ he added in an urge for the administration not to act on the ruling.

MPP, more commonly known as the Remain in Mexico policy, was enacted in January 2019. Trump reached a deal with the Mexican government to return migrants arriving through Mexico and seeking asylum in the U.S.

Biden ended MPP in February 2021 but was immediately met with legal challenges.

Lower courts ruled that the Biden administration violated federal law when he rescinded the policy.

The Supreme Court, however, issued its ruling on Thursday stating that the administration did not violate section 1225 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) with the recession of MPP.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a memo on October 29, 2021, renewing its effort to end MPP after the administration was earlier in the year ordered by a federal judge to restart the program.

That judge claimed the administration failed to follow proper regulatory procedure when rescinding the policy.

The Supreme Court held on Thursday that the October memo had ‘constituted final agency action’ on the matter.

After news broke that dozens of migrants were found dead and in critical condition in the back of a semi-truck in an apparent smuggling attempt, California Representative Jimmy Gomez said MPP is ‘forcing people into these deadly situations.

‘Absolutely horrifying news,’ he wrote. ‘Trump-era policies like #Title42 and #MPP are forcing people — who only want a better life for themselves and their families — into deadly conditions.’

The deadliest human smuggling attempt in American history immediately launched Republicans and Democrats into the blame game, claiming that the opposite parties’ policies are to blame for the loss of life.

‘Because of the way that the Biden administration is not enforcing the immigration laws, it’s attracting people and enticing people to make this very dangerous trek, causing them to lose their lives,’ Texas GOP Governor Greg Abbott said during a press conference on Wednesday.

‘I urge the president: Stop the loss of lives,’ he added. ‘You have the ability to stop people from losing their lives if you make it clear that nobody can come across illegally.’

‘There’s a perfectly legal way that people can immigrate to the United States of America. It’s that legal pathway, Mr. President, that you must insist upon – and if you do that, you will have a role in reducing the loss of life.’

VP Harris said in an interview with NPR released Tuesday that Abbott isn’t ‘dealing with the realities of the issue.’

‘How the governor of that state responded really highlights part of the problem because his response when there are 50 dead bodies in his state is to go straight to politics,’ the vice president said.

The death toll rose from 50 to 53 in the days after the tragedy and as of Wednesday officials had identified 34 of the deceased. Several other survivors are in critical condition after suffering brain damage and internal bleeding.

‘President Biden was warned in advance that reduced border enforcement would lead to dire consequences, and we have seen those dire consequences,’ Abbott said at his press conference Wednesday afternoon.

The driver of the truck Homero Zamorano, 45, was ‘very high on meth’ at the time of his arrest, according to police.

He allegedly tried to disguise himself as one of the victims to avoid being caught.

Source: dailymail