Attorney General Tim Griffin issued the following statement announcing he has sent a letter to President Biden on behalf of 18 state attorneys general opposing the Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) for Certain Palestinians Presidential Memorandum of February 14, 2024:
“President Biden’s deferral of the removal of Palestinians is yet another effort to circumvent the Constitution. Only Congress has the power to make rules for the admission of aliens or to exclude certain aliens—specifically those who endorse or espouse terrorist activity. We’ve seen a significant support for terrorist groups like Hamas and Hezbollah this year on college campuses.
“Last November, I led a group of attorneys general in asking the Department of Homeland Security to vigorously vet foreign-student visa holders and remove anyone who has endorsed or espoused terrorist activity or provided material support to foreign terrorists. Yet President Biden has now done the opposite and ordered DHS to cease removing certain Palestinians from the country. We are asking him to reverse this mass amnesty.”
Through the Immigration and Nationality Act, Congress has created multiple avenues for the Executive Branch to protect aliens whose lives or freedoms would be threatened if they were to return to their home countries. Congress has charged DHS with enforcing these laws, and the Supreme Court has permitted it to exercise “prosecutorial discretion” in so doing. DED, however, does not have a statutory basis.
Griffin is joined on the letter by the attorneys general of Alabama, Alaska, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and West Virginia.
Original source can be found here.