A federal judge in Florida has halted the Biden administration’s practice of releasing illegal aliens into the United States without court dates. The ruling, issued by Judge T. Kent Wetherell II, a former appointee of President Donald Trump, comes just hours before the expiration of Title 42, the measure that allowed for the immediate deportation of illegal border crossers in Mexico during the COVID-19 pandemic. .
Late Thursday, Judge Wetherell issued a temporary restraining order against the Biden administration’s parole policy, which was intended to replace Title 42. The order, effective Thursday at 11:59 p.m. May 11, it was announced by the Attorney General of Florida, Ashley Moody, that he had filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration for the policy.
“We took swift action to protect the American people [President Joe Biden’s] illegal plan to free thousands of illegal immigrants when Title 42 is lifted in an hour. I am grateful for the federal judge’s swift decision,” Moody wrote.
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody argued that the Biden administration’s new policy, which allows undocumented immigrants to be released without court dates, is essentially the same as an earlier program called Parole plus Alternative to Detention (Parole + ATD), which was ruled illegal by a Florida court in March.
Consistent with Moody’s argument, Judge Wetherell stated in his ruling that the policy was “materially indistinguishable” from Parole + ATD, both in terms of its purpose of reducing overcrowding in detention centers and its way of functioning.
According to a memo from the Department of Homeland Security, the new policy outlined by Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas gives him the authority to temporarily condition certain non-citizens to the United States on a case-by-case basis for urgent humanitarian reasons or an important public benefit. Under this policy, detained illegal immigrants could be released into the United States without being assigned an alien registration number or given a court date.
The intent was for this new policy to replace the expiring Title 42 public health order and allow for the release of illegal border crossers under “parole with conditions.”
“The policy does not provide for the foreigner to be detained in the [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] and, as was the case under the Parole + ATD policy, aliens released under the challenged policy would not have an immigration “case” that could be “continued to be processed” after the purposes of parole have been served Wetherell wrote in his last-minute ruling.
The Biden administration justified the new policy as a necessary response to the “crisis at the border.” They argued that blocking the Department of Homeland Security’s parole authority at such a critical time could lead to chaos and jeopardize the safety and security of border officials.
In response, Judge Wetherell dismissed that argument, stating that the administration’s rhetoric “lacks sincerity.” He pointed out that the problem at the border is mainly the result of the administration’s own policies, which have encouraged what is now called “irregular migration”, a phenomenon that has become increasingly frequent in the last two years .
As Title 42 expired at midnight Thursday, Secretary Mayorkas addressed the situation through a video statement. He stressed that migrants who arrive at the border without using a legal route will not be eligible for asylum and will be subject to more serious consequences.
In the video, Mayorkas stated, “We are prepared to prosecute and remove people without a legal basis to remain in the US in a humane manner.” He urged people not to believe the false claims of smugglers and stressed that those who choose not to use the legal channels available to enter the country will now face tougher consequences, including a minimum five-year re-entry ban and the possibility of criminal prosecution.
Mayorkas provided information on resources deployed to the southwest border, including 24,000 Border Patrol agents and officers, as well as a significant presence of troops, contractors and asylum officers.
In a written statement, he reiterated: “Don’t believe the lies of smugglers. The border is not open.”
Starting tonight, people who arrive at the border without using a legal route will be presumed ineligible for asylum. We stand ready to humanely process and remove people without a legal basis to remain in the US (1/4) pic.twitter.com/JnpSw6793v
— Secretary Alexander Mayorkas (@SecMajorkas) May 12
But on Sunday, Mayorkas threatened governors who were taking steps to fight the Biden administration’s willful destruction by refusing to grant illegal aliens privileges and benefits granted only to citizens and taxpayers.
“The immigration system is so broken that you have governors taking action into their own hands,” wailed MSNBC host Jonathan Capehart. “State governments Florida Governor Ron DeSantis recently signed a new law that targets the undocumented population in his state. [editor’s note: a euphemism for illegal aliens] by making it a crime to host, rent or transport undocumented immigrants [see editor’s note], and requires hospitals to ask their patients about their immigration status. What is your reaction to this? Is that even constitutional?”
It should be noted that the US Constitution only applies to US citizens and not to people all over the planet.
“So I’ll defer to the Justice Department on the legality of these kinds of actions, but I will say this, it’s sad, and it’s tragic, when government officials, people in positions of authority, do the right thing for the our country, actually using human beings as a point to score political points,” Mayorkas stated.
Mayorkas did not explain why illegal aliens were entering the country at record rates to begin with.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) blasted the Biden administration’s “deliberate” mishandling of the border crisis in a visit Thursday near the Rio Grande along the U.S.-Mexico border in Brownsville, Texas.
“We are witnessing an absolute travesty at our southern border,” Cruz said. “On Monday, we detained more than 10,000 people at the border, the highest level ever. On Tuesday, we detained more than 10,000 people at the border. Again, the highest level ever.”
“Right now there are over 22,000 people camped out south of the border where we are, getting ready to meet,” he continued. “In this place alone, in less than a month, we have had more than 35,000 Venezuelans cross illegally, right here, not counting everything else on the border. Every day right here. Between ninety and one hundred Chinese nationals are being found. Now, for anyone who doesn’t have their globe nearby, China is not immediately south of the United States. But between 90 and 100 people a day cross this border illegally, being smuggled in by Mexican drug cartels.”
“And I have to say, I’m angry,” he added. “Because this is deliberate. This is a decision made by President Joe Biden and Kamala Harris and the Democrats in Congress to open the border to what is nothing less than an invasion.”
“Ask yourself: Why isn’t President Biden here? Why isn’t Kamala Harris here?” Cruz asked. “Why isn’t Elizabeth Warren here?”
Sen. Ted Cruz: “Why isn’t the AOC here? She still owns the white pantsuit. Why isn’t she here with her head buried in her hands? They don’t care about dead bodies.” pic.twitter.com/gNORRGa2WR
— Becker News (@NewsBecker) May 12, 2023
“Why is it AOC, she still owns the white pantsuit, why isn’t she here with her head buried in her hands?” added. “They don’t care about corpses.”
“Six weeks ago I asked (DHS) Secretary Mayorkas, how many migrants died last year crossing illegally?’ Cruz continued. “He said, ‘I don’t know the numbers.’ 853. But you can’t worry about that. I asked him: ‘How many women have been sexually assaulted in the last year by human traffickers?’ He said, ‘I don’t know.’ Because this cannot disturb the administration. I asked, “How many children have been physically and sexually abused”? Again, “I don’t know.”
“We’ve seen six and a half million people cross illegally since Joe Biden became president and the administration wants six and a half million to be 10 million to be 12 million to be 15 million to be 20 million,” he continued . . “And the body bags that pile up, they can’t be bothered. I will tell you that the great state of Texas is on the front line. The volume is overwhelming. It has to stop.”
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OPINION: This article contains comments that reflect the opinion of the author.
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