OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
A federal judge in Florida delivered a massive blow to President Joe Biden’s administration this week over its “catch and release” policy, which allowed foreign nationals in the country illegally to be released into the U.S. instead of deporting them.
Florida state Attorney General Ashley Moody filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration over the “catch and release” policy, arguing that the program is “illegal.” On Wednesday, a federal judge agreed.
“In a scathing 109-page opinion, U.S. District Judge T. Kent Wetherell for the Northern District of Florida Pensacola Division ruled the Biden administration’s ‘catch-and-release’ policy is unlawful and ‘due to be vacated.’ He also denied the administration’s motion for summary judgment, vacated the administration’s “Parole+ATD” Policy under the Administrative Procedures Act, and gave the administration seven days to seek appellate review and comply with federal law and his ruling,” Just The News reported.
Judge Wetherell ruled, “The Court finds in favor of Florida because, as detailed below, the evidence establishes that Defendants have effectively turned the Southwest Border into a meaningless line in the sand and little more than a speedbump for aliens flooding into the country by prioritizing ‘alternatives to detention’ over actual detention and by releasing more than a million aliens into the country – on ‘parole’ or pursuant to the exercise of ‘prosecutorial discretion’ under a wholly inapplicable statute – without even initiating removal proceedings.”
The judge tore into the Biden administration’s policies:
Collectively, these actions were akin to posting a flashing ‘Come In, We’re Open’ sign on the southern border. The unprecedented ‘surge’ of aliens that started arriving at the Southwest Border almost immediately after President Biden took office and that has continued unabated over the past two years was a predictable consequence of these actions. …
Thus, like a child who kills his parents and then seeks pity for being an orphan, it is hard to take Defendants’ claim that they had to release more aliens into the country because of limited detention capacity seriously when they have elected not to use one of the tools provided by Congress in §1225(b)(2)(C) and they have continued to ask for less detention capacity in furtherance of their prioritization of ‘alternatives to detention’ over actual detention.
“Today’s ruling affirms what we have known all along, President Biden is responsible for the border crisis and his unlawful immigration policies make this country less safe,” Moody said. “A federal judge is now ordering Biden to follow the law, and his administration should immediately begin securing the border to protect the American people.”
In January, Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency and introduced several border security measures.
“Florida is a law and order state, and we won’t turn a blind eye to the dangers of Biden’s Border Crisis,” DeSantis said. “We will continue to take steps to protect Floridians from reckless federal open border policies.”
Last month, former Trump White House immigration adviser Stephen Miller suggested that Biden may be committing an “impeachable offense” by resettling large numbers of illegal immigrants in the country.
“Perhaps in the history of the world, in terms of the number of illegal border crossers being resettled into the interior of our country in violation of plain law,” Miller said.
Carlson responded: “So there’s very little — I mean, you have an organization that is using the law to try and stop this. It’s happening in real-time, it’s been happening for six months without the knowledge of the 320 million American citizens whose country this is, but there is someone who can stop it, and that’s Greg Abbott, who’s the governor of Texas, who commands the Texas National Guard, and of course, it’s his border over which a lot of these people are coming. Why wouldn’t he shut the border tonight with Mexico and stop this?”
“Well, I would argue that the appropriate constitutional remedy is Article IV, Section 4, which says that the government clearly has the obligation to protect any state in this country against invasion and domestic violence. It does not say that that has to be in the form of a nation-state actor. In other words, the Constitution doesn’t say it has to be a state-led invasion. It’s any large-scale, unwelcome, uninvited entry into a country. That, or into a state,” Miller said.
“That would provide the constitutional predicate for exactly what you’re describing. I would also suggest it would provide the constitutional predicate for the Supreme Court, if they had the moral courage, to strike down this entire scheme, which is a blatant violation of our entire constitutional Republican form of government. Let’s be very clear. When Joe Biden put his hand on the Bible and swore an oath to take care of the laws we faithfully executed, to uphold, protect, and defend the Constitution, and to ensure a Republican form of government to every state, he has violated every single one of those commitments. I will also add this: If that’s not an impeachable offense, I can’t imagine what would be,” Miller added.
