Six state attorneys general in red-leaning states have threatened legal action if President Joe Biden goes too far in implementing radical policies, including the repeal of immigration laws.
The six — from Arkansas, Indiana, Mississippi, Montana, Texas and West Virginia — all signed a letter addressed to Biden expressing concern over the stack of executive orders he’s signed in less than a week and a half in office, per Breitbart.
In the Wednesday letter, the attorneys general said Biden’s work thus far “appears to indicate” his administration “may be following the unfortunate path of executive unilateralism.”
They warned they’ll take action if “cabinet officials, executive officers, and agencies” act beyond their authority. Their concerns included an “extreme ‘Green New Deal’ agenda,” overreaching to make changes in the healthcare system, and “spending sprees without congressional authorizations.”
“Overreaching and defying Congress will not be rewarded or succeed,” they wrote. “Our States have led the charge in successfully challenging unauthorized and unlawful executive actions, as you know from your years as vice president. You can be assured that we will do so again, if necessary.”
The attorneys general said it sometimes fell to them to ensure federal laws were followed.
“When presidents do not take care to ensure that executive agencies live up to their obligation of reasoned decision making, the task often falls to us as State Attorneys General to challenge their actions in court,” they wrote.
“While we would rather you keep agencies from running amok in the first place, we will not hesitate to step up to the plate when our States are harmed by agency malfeasance.”
The six attorneys general include Arkansas’ Leslie Rutledge, Indiana’s Todd Rokita, Mississippi’s Lynn Fitch, Montana’s Austin Knudsen, Texas’ Ken Paxton, and West Virginia’s Patrick Morrisey.
Among the first batch of executive orders Biden signed were ones that: revoked former President Donald Trump’s 2017 travel ban; halted construction of the southern border wall; rescinded the exclusion of non-citizens from the census; and froze deportations for 100 days.
A federal judge on Tuesday barred the U.S. government from enforcing the 100-day deportation moratorium.
He also has proposed amnesty to undocumented immigrants as part of his pathway to citizenship, and first lady Jill Biden is said to be helping reunite migrant families separated under the Trump administration.
Biden’s immediate focus on immigration was defended as a way to fight for “racial equity” by White House press secretary Jen Psaki.
Dozens of progressive House lawmakers sent a letter to Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris this week demanding that future coronavirus relief measures include recurring payments that extend to illegal immigrants.
Via Newsmax