On Thursday, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody sued the Biden administration in federal court to block the mass release of migrants into the United States after the Title 42 public health order expires.
Moody’s is seeking a temporary restraining order to stem the expected influx, arguing that Biden’s current parole policy reflects a similar order that was overturned by a federal judge last month. Currently, screened immigrants who cannot be processed by the overburdened border authorities will be allowed to enter the country.
Moody’s filing argues that the approach echoes an earlier policy that allowed undocumented immigrants to be paroled within the nation if local officials could not accommodate them. Saying the appropriation turned the border into a “meaningless line in the sand,” a Florida federal judge last month declared the policy unconstitutional.
Moody’s argued that Biden’s latest strategy was “materially identical” to the previous policy and therefore invalid. “The behavior of the Biden administration, if left unchecked, makes a mockery of our judicial system and our Constitution,” the file reads.
Moody’s argued that an expected surge of immigrants after the end of Title 42 will inevitably overwhelm border officials and trigger a massive influx of illegal immigrants into American cities. The Department of Homeland Security told Fox News last month that border officials “may consider releasing some migrants who have undergone a rigorous national and public security investigation to continue their immigration processes.”.
The policy “may include treating immigrants for parole to reduce the amount of time they spend in custody.”
Migrants have concentrated at the border in anticipation of the end of Title 42, which has allowed for the rapid removal of undocumented migrants during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Moody’s told Fox that the Florida lawsuit is intended to “force this administration to follow the law, protect the border and protect the American people.”
Though far from the southern border, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said lax immigration policies ease the flow of fentanyl across the country, including the Sunshine State.
Moody’s filing notes that more than 100,000 illegal immigrants have entered Florida. “Florida will continue to spend funds for illegal aliens in the state in the form of public education, criminal alien incarceration costs, unemployment benefits, and emergency Medicaid,” the document said. “These costs will go up because of the new probation policy.”
DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has warned of growing immigration challenges in light of the end of Title 42. “Even after nearly two years of preparation, we expect to see a large number of meetings on our southern border in the days and weeks following May 11,” he said. “We are already seeing a high number of meetings in some sectors. This puts incredible pressure on our people, our facilities, and our communities with which we are closely associated.”
Officers have already been instructed to release migrants from border areas that have reached 125% capacity, according to NBC.
Border workers are being told to report to an immigration office within 60 days, but there is no way to track their whereabouts, a DHS official told the network.
