A lawsuit brought by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis‘ administration on Thursday against the Biden administration has stopped the Department of Homeland Security from being able to release illegal aliens into the U.S. if officials at the border are unable to deal with large influxes of people because they are overcapacity.
Judge Thomas Kent Wetherell II of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida issued the ruling with just a few hours before Title 42 — a section of the U.S. Code addressing public health emergencies that was used during the pandemic to help U.S. officials gain better operational control of the border — was set to expire.
“DHS is enjoined from implementing or enforcing the parole policy contained in the May 10, 2023, Memorandum from U.S. Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz, titled ‘Policy on Parole with Conditions in Limited Circumstances Prior to Issuance of a Charging Document (Parole with Conditions),’” Wetherell ruled. “This TRO will take effect at 11:59 p.m. eastern time to correspond with the expiration of the Title 42 Order and to give Defendants an opportunity to seek an emergency stay from a higher court.”
The memo cited by Wetherell was written by U.S. Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz on Wednesday and said that the U.S. Border Patrol needed to “consider whether processing personnel and resources are necessary to process other noncitizens in BP custody or accomplish enforcement actions that are immediately critical to border security for the greater public benefit.”
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“As short-term holding conditions become more crowded, USBP faces increasing challenges regarding maintenance of sanitation, medical needs and mental health of noncitizens, among other short-term custody standard considerations,” he added.
DeSantis communications director Taryn Fenske tweeted: “@govrondesantis & @ashleymoody beat Biden, again! SUES Feds and is GRANTED a temporary restraining order on illegal immigrant parole release policy.”
Wetherell had written to the Biden administration earlier in the day on Thursday ordering them to respond to the lawsuit from Florida attorney general, Ashley Moody.
“It is inconceivable that [the Biden administration] waited until yesterday to formulate this policy, particularly since they have known for quite some time that the Title 42 Order was going to expire tonight,” Wetherell wrote.