Attorney General Ashley Moody's office will be in the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit on Friday, as the Biden administration seeks to reverse a judgment obtained by Florida that directs the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to follow federal immigration laws. The Biden administration has been practicing catch and release, releasing millions of unvetted migrants into the interior of the country. Attorney General Moody has previously won federal court battles challenging President Biden's efforts to keep the Southern Border open, but the Biden administration continues to fight for an unrestrained ability to parole those illegally crossing the border.
According to Attorney General Moody, "Biden is ignoring the law and the opinion we obtained in federal court regarding his open border policies. He is wasting time and resources fighting Florida and Texas instead of doing his job and ending the border crisis. As a result, more than 8 million unvetted immigrants and hundreds of millions of deadly doses of fentanyl have flooded into our country with no signs of stopping as long as Biden is president."
Florida filed the case in March 2021 and during the discovery and litigation process, they forced the federal government to provide several pieces of evidence. This included a deposition of former U.S. Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz, who stated that the Biden administration purposely reduced detention capacity, leaving Border Patrol with no choice but to release hundreds of thousands of immigrants into the interior. It was also revealed that the federal government has a plan to mass-release migrants into the United States if Title 42 expires, and ICE Executive Associate Director Corey Price confirmed that the Biden administration knew its immigration priorities would cut enforcement in half.
Additionally, training videos from ICE showed officials discussing the logistical problems created when tens of thousands of immigrants were released without charging documents. DHS emails also revealed that the Biden administration's dismantling of the Trump administration's immigration structures left Border Patrol with no other options but to release almost all immigrants encountered.
A federal judge ruled in favor of Florida on March 8, 2023, stating that the evidence showed that the Biden administration had turned the Southwest Border into a "meaningless line in the sand" by prioritizing alternatives to detention over actual detention and releasing over a million aliens into the country without initiating removal proceedings. This ruling is one of two that the Biden administration is appealing, with the oral argument taking place on Friday in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit.
The Biden administration's actions have also been hindering states like Texas from protecting Americans and enforcing the law at the border. Last month, the administration broke another monthly record with more than 302,000 migrants encountered, the highest monthly total ever recorded.
The battle between Florida and the federal government over the border crisis continues, as Attorney General Ashley Moody fights to hold the Biden administration accountable for their open border policies. The outcome of Friday's court hearing will have significant implications for the future of immigration policies in the United States.