(TheRedWire.com) – In 2020, then-Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden claimed Donald Trump’s immigration policies were cruel and inhumane. Yet, former president’s policy mainly involved working to build a protective wall at the nation’s southern border and enforce the nation’s immigration laws. Still, Democrats intensely criticized the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency, and some even called for its eradication. Since Biden took office in January 2021, the Border Patrol has encountered over 1.73 million illegal immigrants.
Biden hasn’t had much success in federal court. Texas sued the new administration just days after Biden took office and implemented a deportation pause for 100 days. A federal judge ruled the president didn’t have the legislative authority to pause deportations. In a separate case involving Texas, a judge ordered Biden to reinstate Trump’s Remain-in-Mexico policy. Now, a federal judge is blocking another controversial immigration order enacted by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Judge Blocks Biden Again
In September 2021, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas issued a memorandum ordering ICE to violate immigration laws. He instructed ICE to halt detentions of certain immigrants who faced deportation due to criminal convictions. Mayorkas directed immigration officials to focus solely on illegal immigrants who are a risk to the United States’ national security interests or public safety and those who recently crossed the southern border.
In a 79-page ruling, Federal US District Court Judge Michael Newman agreed with plaintiffs from Arizona, Montana, and Ohio, finding that Mayorka’s directive was illegal. Newman ruled federal agents couldn’t use Mayorka’s rules about custody decisions. He blocked the secretary’s order to release or delay deportations of illegal immigrants under court order to deport.
Will ICE Comply?
It’s unknown how ICE will respond to the ruling or if it will continue to enforce the parts of the memo the judge did not block. Technically, the immigration enforcement agency falls under the purview of DHS.
Since October, Border Patrol agents have encountered 838,685 migrants in just five months. While the media focuses on Ukraine, the border crisis continues to spiral out of control. Still, the Biden administration’s liberal immigration policies ensure ICE arrests and deportations are low. On March 11, ICE released its annual report. The immigration agency said illegal immigration arrests were down 28% in 2021 over 2020 figures, and immigration officials only deported 59,0111 migrants, an all-time low number. This situation occurred as the flood of immigrants was near or at an all-time high.
Republicans say President Biden encourages illegal migration through his rhetoric and policies limiting immigration law enforcement. Meanwhile, Biden’s Department of Justice is considering an appeal of Judge Newman’s ruling.
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