Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody's lawsuit against Biden's immigration policies has succeeded. Judge T. Kent Wetherell, U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Florida Pensacola Division, blocked Biden's border policies and declared them illegal.
Since 2021, the federal government has implemented a system of registration and subsequent release of illegal immigrants that replaced the detention and deportation system. Attorney General Moody filed her lawsuit that same year. Now that the judge has ruled in favor of the Florida attorney general, the federal government has seven days to comply with the judge's order.
A federal judge today agreed with Florida that @JoeBiden broke the border, and ordered @POTUS to adopt a new, lawful immigration policy to fix the chaos he created and protect the American people. https://t.co/XdVvHjJOtU
— AG Ashley Moody (@AGAshleyMoody) March 8, 2023
"Collectively, these actions were akin to posting a flashing 'Come In, We’re Open' sign on the southern border," Wetherell said of Biden's policies. The judge added, "The unprecedented 'surge' of aliens that started arriving at the Southwest Border almost immediately after President Biden took office and that has continued unabated over the past two years was a predictable consequence of these actions."
Several reports highlighted the difficult situation for immigration control since Biden took office. According to Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz, the Biden administration deliberately reduced detention capacity at centers for illegal immigrants. According to Ortiz, Biden's measures forced security forces to release hundreds of thousands of migrants into the country.
Also key was the testimony of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Executive Director Corey Price. Price said the Biden administration was aware that its measures would cut border control capacity in half.
In the past five days, interagency efforts within Miami Sector led to discovering 26 smuggling events, totaling nearly 600 migrants. Since October 1, 2022, Miami Sector has seen a 400% increase in migrant encounters over the same time period last year. @USBPChiefMIP pic.twitter.com/kzIH3XO7dJ
— Chief Raul Ortiz (@USBPChief) January 4, 2023
In the Florida attorney general's words, Biden's measures turned the southern border into "little more than a speedbump" for illegal immigrants. Migrant encounters increased markedly in 2022, according to CBP data. According to Raul Ortiz, illegal entries grew by 400% in the Miami sector in 2022.
It remains to be seen what the Biden administration will do in the coming weeks to manage the border crisis. Title 42, which allows for the expedited removal of illegal aliens, will expire in May 2023.
