Biden Admin Has Deported Hundreds Of Illegal Immigrants After Judge Blocked Moratorium

After a federal judge temporarily barred the U.S. government from enforcing a 100-day deportation moratorium last week, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reportedly sent illegal immigrants from at least three countries back to their homeland.

The Associated Press reports, “President Biden’s administration has deported hundreds of immigrants in its early days despite his campaign pledge to stop most such moves at the beginning of his term.” According to the outlet, ICE deported “15 people to Jamaica on Thursday and 269 people to Guatemala and Honduras on Friday.” The report said more ICE deportation flights had been scheduled on Monday.

Even though @JoeBiden is the new President of the United States, @ICEgov continues to operate as if Donald Trump were president. The Biden Administration must do more to dismantle Donald Trump's regime of mass deportation and family separation. https://t.co/4CnscnrmAq

— Ritchie Torres (@RitchieTorres) February 2, 2021

“Even though @JoeBiden is the new President of the United States, @ICEgov continues to operate as if Donald Trump were president,” tweeted Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY). “The Biden Administration must do more to dismantle Donald Trump’s regime of mass deportation and family separation.”

During the presidential campaign, Biden had vowed to pause most deportations for 100 days if elected. However, U.S. District Judge Drew Tipton issued a temporary restraining order last week blocking the president’s directive after a lawsuit filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton challenged its legality.

As the AP notes, although Judge Tipton “ordered the Biden administration not to enforce” the moratorium on deportations, “the ruling did not require the government to schedule them,” and:

It’s unclear how many of those people are considered national security or public safety threats or had recently crossed the border illegally, the priority under new guidance issued to enforcement agencies by the Department of Homeland Security, which took effect Monday.

Some of the people put on the flights may have been expelled — which is a quicker process than deportation — under a public health order that former President Trump invoked amid the COVID-19 pandemic and that Biden has kept in place but is ordering for review.

On Friday, Judge Tipton said he would extend the order through Feb. 23.

The recent deportees reportedly include a woman who witnessed the 2019 mass shooting at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, which left 22 people dead. Because she fears for her safety in Juarez, Mexico, the woman is being identified by her first name, Rosa. An official with a nonprofit representing the woman claims she was pulled over last week while driving with a broken brake light, detained on previous traffic warrants, transferred to ICE, then deported before she could contact her attorney.

🚨 ACT NOW 🚨 #DMRS is demanding the immediate return of our client Rosa, a survivor of the El Paso Walmart Shooting, who was just deported to MX. #ReturnRosa
1/5 pic.twitter.com/g1a2EsV9cv

— dmrs_elpaso (@DMRS_ElPaso) January 31, 2021

“It’s important that President Biden and Vice President Harris realize that, despite their very clear desires about how immigrants are treated, we continue to see on a local level immigrants being mistreated and disregarded,” said Melissa Lopez, executive director of Diocesan Migrant & Refugee Services, which represents Rosa.

The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office told the AP that ICE had issued a detainer to hold Rosa on immigration violations. The outlet examined jail records that confirmed Rosa was booked last Wednesday and released on Friday.

Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-TX), whose district includes El Paso, told the AP her office had alerted the White House about Rosa’s case.

“My concern is that ICE will continue to move quickly before the Biden administration has an opportunity to make assessments and provide further directives,” Escobar said.

The compound trauma of living through a mass shooting then being removed from the only home you’ve ever known is unimaginable.

We’ll work to help get Rosa home.

This is another example of our govt’s horrible practice of deporting victims of/witnesses to crime – and it must stop https://t.co/XrDZsF9ieU

— Veronica Escobar (@vgescobar) January 31, 2021

Escobar tweeted that Rosa’s case is “another example of our govt’s horrible practice of deporting victims of/witnesses to crime – and it must stop.”

Still, the El Paso district attorney’s office said in a statement that Rosa “is not a victim of the Walmart shooting case.”

The White House referred the AP to the Department of Homeland Security when asked for comment.  A DHS spokesman, however, did not immediately respond to the outlet.

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