The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected an appeal filed by the Biden Administration to overturn two rulings issued in May that barred immigration officials from releasing foreign nationals who were in immigration court proceedings.
The orders were dated March 8 and May 16 by federal judge Kent Wetherell of Florida, appointed by the Trump administration.
Illegal aliens are often released into U.S. Communities under a practice known as "catch and release." The disastrous program allows the executive branch to release aliens currently in the asylum process who disappear into the nation's interior before resolving their immigration court cases.
The released aliens whose asylum cases were referred to immigration courts are registered under the Alternative Detention Program (ATD), administered by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), where they may request a bail hearing. Should the aliens be granted bail, they must appear before the immigration court years down the line and are monitored predominantly with tax-payer-funded cell phones during the process.
In Monday's nine-page decision, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals said that in the appeal filed by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the government "has not met its burden to show that (those released) will cause irreparable damage." DHS's appeal also stated that stopping the release of illegal aliens into the U.S. "would undermine the constitutional and statutory authority of the executive branch to enforce its immigration policy."
DHS argued that they must release illegal aliens or "face overcrowding of CBP facilities," particularly during border surges - like the one seen throughout the entirety of President Biden's first term.
The Court of Appeals rejected these claims, adding that the allegations "ring somewhat hollow on this record, considering the department's track record of overstating similar threats in the underlying proceedings" and pointed to prior claims made by the administration of disastrous consequences if releases were blocked.
"The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has refused to disturb an injunction Florida obtained against a Biden policy allowing the mass release of illegal immigrants into the country," Ashley Moody (Fla. AG) said in a statement. "Protecting our border is one of the most fundamental responsibilities of our President and Florida will not allow Joe Biden and Secretary Mayorkas to continue putting American lives at risk in clear violation of Federal Law."
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