A preliminary injunction put in place by a federal judge this week adds another blow to President Biden in what has already been a terrible week for his White House.
The injunction stops the Biden administration’s directives in Jan. and Feb. greatly lowering the list of crimes for which illegals might be captured and deported.
U.S. District Judge Drew Tipton decided that these directives by the Biden White House broke congressional mandates. He also said the states that issued the lawsuit, Louisiana and Texas, would likely win with their argument that the policy breaks the Administrative Procedures Act.
The guidance from the Biden White House was issued in February and added to a Dept. of Homeland Security directive released in January.
The goal of the rules was to restrict the focus of ICE agents to illegals who had performed “aggravated felonies,” were a security threat, or had went through the border after Nov. 1.
At the time, officials reported that the rules did not definitively stop any illegal from getting arrested or deported but simply directed resources to illegals in these three categories. However, to arrest someone outside of these categories forced officers to get approval from their superiors before going forward.
Critics have stressed that a steep lowering in deportations happened after this guidance was given and said that Biden and his team were trying to “handcuff” ICE.
In his ruling, the judge said there was essentially no argument to be had against the connection between the guidance and the damage it inflicted on the states, stressing that the undisputed evidence revealed that these directives were responsible for an uptick in the number of criminal illegals who had been allowed to go into the public.
“Considering this evidence, the Court is not inclined to believe the link between the States’ harm and criminal aliens being let go is ‘speculative’ as the Federal Government suggests,” Tipton said.
Concluding the injunction, he said that while many topics surrounding immigration law are within the case, the top concern revolves around if the executive branch institutes a policy that explicitly conflicts with the law.
The ruling reinforces what many have long said — that the Biden administration cannot just ignore the checks and balances in this nation. The president must uphold current immigration laws. If Joe Biden wants to change the law, he must go through Congress to do so.
Author: Steven Sinclaire
