Republican lawmakers have vowed to stop the Biden administration from forcing some migrant families to remain in Texas while they await their initial asylum screening.

The Times reported last week that the administration was considering the idea of ​​”remain in Texas,” which would see migrants’ locations tracked using GPS monitoring devices such as ankle monitors. Immigrant advocates criticized the plan, calling it punitive and misleading.

Republican leaders, including the governor of Texas. Greg Abbott has said they would try to block the policy if it were introduced.

It should be ‘stay in Mexico,’ not ‘stay in Texas,’” Abbott said on Fox News on Monday. “We have a lawsuit ready that will remove this threat from Joe Biden if he dares to try to pull the trigger. .”

Abbott has bused thousands of migrants to Democratic cities including New York and Los Angeles since 2022 and promised to send more if the Biden administration tried to enforce the policy.

In Washington, Republican Rep. August Pfluger introduced an amendment to a government funding bill that would ban the Department of Homeland Security from spending money to advance the “Remain in Texas” plan. The existence of the amendment was first reported by Fox News.

“It is no coincidence that the Biden administration began considering a ‘Remain-in-Texas’ policy the same week that New York Mayor Eric Adams openly criticized the chaos at our border and declared that the migrant crisis” New York City will destroy’. ‘” Pfluger said in a press release. “Liberal sanctuary cities like New York that openly obstruct federal immigration laws and implement policies to protect criminals from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) should not be immune from the crisis at our border. Biden’s ‘Remain -in-Texas policy must remain in place. I will fight any attempt by this administration to force Texans to bear the brunt of their immigration crisis.”

Department of Homeland Security officials had previously said they were continuously reviewing immigration policies.

DHS is engaged in ongoing policy and operational discussions about how we can leverage our authorities to ensure a fair, humane and effective immigration process that efficiently removes those who have no legal basis to remain in the country, a spokesperson for the ministry last week.

Supporters of the “Remain in Texas” effort believe it could help speed deportations of families who fail initial asylum screenings and deter other families from entering the country in the first place.

In recent months, Border Patrol has encountered more families at the southern border. More than 60,000 families crossed the border in July alone, and while official figures for August have not been released, the Washington Post recently reported that the number for August was a record.

The administration also tried to force migrants to stay in Texas in the late 1980s at the end of President Reagan’s administration.

Local officials criticized the effort, but a federal court ultimately ruled that it could proceed.