"Of Putting The Cart Before The Horse" -- Down In South Texas, USDC Judge Tipton Doesn't Understand... His Job.

Ahem. Several US Supreme Court cases, recent ones, too -- make it clear that Texas has no standing to complain about lawful changes in US immigration policies. That would mean that a US District Court Judge, sitting in the Southern District of Texas, would be required to immediately dismiss a claim of breach of contract, or one for any "extra costs", to the extent the same resulted from nation-wide, uniform, immigration policy changes, on and after a lawful transfer of power in the US -- the change, as of January 20, of administrations. [The difference here -- with practically all of Baby-T's orders -- was that they plainly contravened US statutes, on these topics. Texas makes no such colorable claim.] No -- Mr. Biden's, by contrast, simply restore our treaty-level procedures, to what the statutes require of the US government, in terms of limited due process for undocumented persons.

But as I've said since the jump, Judge Tipton is ignoring his threshold duty here (getting his own cart in front of the horse), as a court of limited jursdiction -- he is required to first determine whether he has any colorable right to hear the matter. Hint: he doesn't. Given how inartfully Texas pleaded its claim, it wouldn't matter if the answers to the below questions were 10, or 100, or 1,000. . . or even one million. The questions -- however they are answered, indicate that the current Administration is determining who is and is not deportable. That is required under the statute, and ever more so -- since it is undisputed that the prior administration (in Michigan, particularly, in 2019) was unlawfully immediately seeking the removal, without process -- of even US citizens (in that case, one who had served in the middle east for our armed forces).

In sum, Judge Tipton, only ever a civil labor litigator, never a judge at all before -- and only six months in total experience, on this Baby-T appointed federal bench, and coming out of an "education" at the fourth tier South Texas College of Law (Houston!?). . . is plainly not up to doing this complex job, At all. Here's the full three pager, for reference, as a PDF -- and the bit that is most clearly beyond even his arguable jurisdictional reach:

. . .February 10, 2021 DEFENDANTS’ PRODUCTION OF THE FOLLOWING DATA:

1) the number of individuals in custody or detention for immigration violations;

2) the number of individuals currently subject to final orders of removal, whether in custody or not;

3) the number of individuals subject to a final order of removal that have been released from custody or detention into the United States from January 20, 2021 to present;

4) the number of individuals subject to a final order of removal who have been released into the United States from custody from January 20, 2019 to the present;

5) the number of individuals subject to a final order of removal who have been released into the United States from custody from January 20, 2019 to the present who have failed to return or appear for their hearing or removal;

6) the percentage of individuals subject to a final order of removal who have actually been removed from January 20, 2019 to the present. . . .

The inexperienced, lost lil' lamb of a judge in Texas is effectively ordering discovery -- on matters that are wholly irrelevant to deciding whether he will ever have jurisdiction. No, he's "hip deep now, in alligators" -- in a matter he undoubtedly lacks the ability to hear, or ask for. . . anything. That is true -- until and unless Texas can establish his jurisdiction -- and that they have not done. In fact, Judge Tipton hasn't really even asked them about it. That alone would be. . . disqualifying. One could be forgiven for thinking all he is doing is trying to score what he wrongly imagines are. . . political points, by suggesting that the Biden Administration is being "too soft", here. Good grief. . . .

Snow shoveled -- time for a very hot bath, warm cookies. . . and then some soft, well worn flannel sheeets. I'm out. . . grinning.

नमस्ते