Biden Immigration Policy Challenged Over Environmental Harms
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Biden Immigration Policy Challenged Over Environmental Harms
The Biden administration failed to consider the environmental impacts of its asylum and immigration programs, a group of Texas residents say in a new lawsuit. The departments of Homeland Security, State, Justice, and Health and Human Services should have conducted environmental studies, the residents say. The lawsuit comes amid environmental groups’ push to block the Trump administration’s increased immigration enforcement efforts. The agencies didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The departments of Homeland Security, State, Justice, and Health and Human Services should have conducted environmental studies and wildlife consultations for a host of immigration policies, including the interim asylum rule and the Refugee and Entrant Assistance Program, according to the complaint filed Monday in the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas.
These policies harmed the land on the US-Mexico border, increased housing construction, and strained infrastructure, thus warranting National Environmental Policy Act analyses and Endangered Species Act studies, the residents said.
“Defendants have applied an underlying policy of performing no environmental analysis of actions that increase immigration despite NEPA’s specific concern with population growth,” the complaint said.
The lawsuit comes amid environmental groups’ push to employ the same laws to block the Trump administration’s increased immigration enforcement efforts.
Their legal challenges include efforts to block the continued operation of the temporary migrant facility in the Florida Everglades known as “Alligator Alcatraz,” as well as a portion of the border wall.
Monday’s lawsuit alleges the Texas cities of El Paso and Eules have experienced environmental degradation as a result of illegal border crossings under former President Joe Biden, including increased construction, traffic congestion, and habitat loss for endangered species such as the loggerhead sea turtle.
The prior administration’s migrant assistance programs and asylum rules created “pull factors” that encouraged more immigration and led to “crisis levels” on the US-Mexico border, the suit said.
The agencies didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The residents are represented by SL Law PLLC, the Center for Immigration Studies, and St. John LLC.
The case is Rodriguez v. Dep’t of Homeland Sec., N.D. Tex., No. 2:25-cv-00163, complaint filed 7/21/25.