Sheriff A.J. Louderback of Jackson County made an appearance on Tucker Carlson Tonight on Monday.
Carlson asked Louderback whether the Biden administration is freeing illegal immigrants into the population without testing them for COVID-19.
The sheriff said the claim was “absolutely true,” saying the Biden administration’s actions will cause “irreparable harm.”
Louderback asserted that the January 20 deportation freeze issued by acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary David Pekoske amounted to “defunding [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] by memorandum.”
“You know, I struggle for a thought process, like many Americans and Texans, on how the administration can conduct themselves in this manner, and promote a lawless attitude here where people are going to get hurt, seriously injured, killed, and people vowed to stay here, which is unbelievable,” Louderback said.
The sheriff said he believes the Biden administration has “conveniently overlooked” the coronavirus pandemic when it relates to immigration.
President Biden has reversed some of the immigration policies implemented by former President Trump, including the national emergency Trump invoked to secure more funding for the border wall project.
Pekoske’s deportation suspension is currently entangled in litigation.
The State of Texas sued a scrolling list of defendants, including Pekoske, alleging that the deportation pause runs afoul of a pact the Lone Star State has with the federal government.
On January 26, a federal judge in Victoria granted a temporary restraining order blocking the deportation freeze.
In a letter on Thursday to Vice President Kamala Harris and Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA-12), Biden laid out his vision for immigration and leveled a number of complaints against his predecessor.
“I have determined that the declaration of a national emergency at our southern border was unwarranted,” Biden wrote. “I have also announced that it shall be the policy of my Administration that no more American taxpayer dollars be diverted to construct a border wall, and that I am directing a careful review of all resources appropriated or redirected to that end.”
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Hayden Sparks
Hayden Sparks is a senior reporter for The Texan and a lifelong resident of the Lone Star State. He has coached competitive speech and debate and has been involved in politics since a young age. One of Hayden's favorite quotes is by Sam Houston: "Texas has yet to learn submission to any oppression, come from what source it may."
