On Thursday, Federal Judge Drew Tipton, representing the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, issued a preliminary injunction against the Biden Administration's ICE rules which drastically limited the categories of criminal aliens the agency could target.
According to Fox News, Judge Drew Tipton ruled that the policy violated congressional mandates and that Louisiana and Texas, which filed the lawsuit, were likely to succeed in their claim that the policy violated the Administrative Procedures Act (APA.)
In February, the Biden Administration issued the controversial new rule limiting agents' focus to just three categories of criminal illegal aliens: national security threats, "aggravated felonies," and those who crossed the border since Nov. 1, 2020. However, a strong argument can be made that such restrictions on ICE officers effectively began with President Biden's inauguration and were made official a month later.
White House and DHS officials continually reassured the American people that the new rule would not explicitly prevent any criminal illegal alien from being arrested or deported. However, what was not mentioned, was that field-experienced officers seeking to arrest a criminal alien outside of the three aforementioned categories would need to seek special permission from bureaucratic higher-ups within DHS - each time.
Acting Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Tae Johnson said in a statement at the time:
By focusing our limited resources on cases that present threats to national security, border security and public safety, our agency will more ably and effectively execute its law enforcement mission. Like every law enforcement agency at the local, state and federal level, we must prioritize our efforts to achieve the greatest security and safety impact.
Critics, like Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, noted that the rule caused a sharp drop in arrests and deportations of criminal aliens, even going as far to say, "What they are really doing... is they are literally trying to abolish ICE through administrative actions."
This lawsuit ruled on by Judge Tipton was brought by Louisiana and Texas and argued that narrowing arrests of criminal illegal aliens would damage the states financially and damage their public interest in protecting their citizens from criminal aliens. Additionally, the states argued that the rule prioritizes certain categories of aliens, a breach of congressional mandates that order the detention of all criminal illegal aliens.
Tipton ruled that the link between the Biden Admin's rule and the harm suffered by the states is "virtually unassailable" and that "the undisputed evidence demonstrates that the memoranda are already causing a dramatic increase in the volume of criminal aliens released into the public."
You can read the full ruling below.
Texas ICE Priorities Ruling by Fox News
Last week, U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas ordered the Biden Administration to "enforce and implement" the effective Migrant Protection Protocols (Remain in Mexico), stating that DHS "failed to consider several critical factors" before ending the program.
For the complete article, please visit Fox News.
