By Ted Hesson and Daniel Wiessner
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A U.S. federal appeals on Friday sided with Texas Governor Greg Abbott on technical grounds over a 2021 executive order that restricted transport of migrants through the state, saying a lower court should dismiss a related legal challenge.
In a 2-1 split, a three-judge panel of the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that immigration advocates lacked the legal authority to sue Abbott over the transportation prohibition.
The ruling does not affect a similar legal challenge brought by President Joe Biden’s administration, leaving an August 2021 lower court’s injunction in place.
Abbott, a Republican, has criticized President Joe Biden’s Democratic administration for failing to adequately secure the border and stepped up the state’s response to record migrant arrivals in recent years.
The 5th Circuit found that Abbott’s authority as governor barred the immigration advocates from challenging the executive order.
(Reporting by Ted Hesson in Washington and Dan Wiessner in Albany, New York; Editing by David Gregorio)
