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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton files lawsuit against Biden administration

2 years 11 months 3 weeks ago Wednesday, April 07 2021 Apr 7, 2021 April 07, 2021 8:42 AM April 07, 2021 in News - Local

For the fourth time since President Biden took office, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit against the administration, this one claiming that they are not following a law to put immigrants with criminal records in jail.

The lawsuit also alleges that it’s costing Texans to keep immigrants in custody.

According to a lawsuit Paxton filed back in January, the state of Texas spends hundreds of millions of dollars per year on unlawfully present and undocumented immigrants.

But one immigrant Channel 5 News spoke to says those numbers don’t add up, starting with the claim that immigrants cost Texans money in uncompensated medical care.

“I never went to the doctors here,” said Ramona Casas. “For many, many years I would go to a doctor in Reynosa. "

Many of the people, when they don’t have legal documents, they are afraid they’ll be asked for an ID or some kind of documents," Casas continued. 

Casas, who also works with the immigrant advocacy group ARISE, says immigrants do have to pay for their hospital bills just like the rest of Texans.

Advocates also say some immigrants contribute to tax dollars by filing federal income tax.

“Undocumented people could pay federal income tax by applying for the ITIN number, which is a nine-digit  number that looks very similar to a social security number, but it’s not,” said Danny Diaz with immigration advocacy group LUPE.

Diaz says the system incentivizes them to pay income tax, because it could help with their immigration cases.

"They can go back and say, 'Hey, we have been financially committed to this country,'" Diaz says. 

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office was not available for comment for this story.

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