Coalition of Attorney Generals Petitions DHS to End Biden’s ”Catch-and-Release” Policy
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody and a coalition of attorney generals from 27 states are urging the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to comply with a federal ruling and put an end to President Joe Biden’s controversial “catch-and-release” policy. This policy grants parole to certain illegal immigrants entering the southern border, a move that has faced legal challenges.
Ms. Moody successfully sued the Biden administration over this “extended-release” policy, which allows parole on a case-by-case basis for illegal immigrants based on ”urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit,” as stated in Section 1182 of the U.S. Code 8.
Border patrol officials have been resorting to parole due to limited holding space, according to court filings. Paroled illegal immigrants are provided with smartphones to track them and are required to report to authorities within two months of arriving at their intended destination within the United States.
According to court documents, over 207,000 illegal immigrants were paroled through this program between August 2021 and May 2022 alone. Expedited releases saw a 28 percent increase between April and May 2022.
In 2022, Border Patrol paroled a record-breaking total of 572,575 illegal immigrants, with December alone seeing 130,563 paroled, according to official data. However, the number dropped to 5,225 in January 2023 after the administration introduced an online application program for immigrants leaving Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.
While paroled illegal immigrants are shielded from deportation for a limited period, up to a year, they receive no other protections. Agency officials have argued that detaining illegal immigrants in facilities costs $140 a day, compared to the $4.36 it costs to pursue alternatives such as parole with smartphone tracking.
Advocates of the parole system claim that it frees up space in detention facilities and is a faster alternative to issuing court notices for illegal immigrants to appear in immigration court.
Illegal immigrants just released from detention through “catch and release” immigration policy stand at a bus station before being taken to the Catholic Charities relief center in McAllen, Texas, on April 11, 2018. (Loren Elliott/Reuters)
Surprisingly, some Democrats are now joining conservatives in criticizing Biden’s border patrol policies. New York Mayor Eric Adams (D) recently traveled to Mexico to discourage individuals from crossing the border, citing the lack of resources provided by the Biden administration to process the influx of illegal immigrants. He expressed his disappointment, stating that the president had “failed” New York.
According to AP VoteCast, 61 percent of Democrats polled expressed a desire for stronger law enforcement at the border, while 66 percent of independents disapproved of the president’s border security policies. The White House has not yet responded to requests for comment from The Epoch Times.
In March, U.S. District Judge T. Kent Wetherell II, a President Trump appointee, ruled in favor of Ms. Moody’s lawsuit against the Biden administration. In his 109-page opinion, the judge criticized Biden’s parole policies, stating that they effectively undermine border security and prioritize “alternatives to detention” over actual detention.
During the court proceedings, Ms. Moody presented a deposition from U.S. Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz, who revealed that Biden intentionally reduced detention capacity at Border Patrol facilities, resulting in the release of thousands of illegal immigrants into Florida and other states. Mr. Ortiz warned that this crisis is jeopardizing the safety of both Americans and immigrants.
Ms. Moody’s petition highlights the alarming number of illegal immigrants released under Biden’s DHS border policies, with 100,585 released in August 2023 alone. She estimates that over one million illegal immigrants are released every year.
In her petition, Ms. Moody calls for the closure of the “catch-and-release” loophole in federal law and the amendment of rules governing immigrant release and parole eligibility.
Attorney generals from 27 states, including Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming, have signed Ms. Moody’s petition.
Petitions for Rulemaking, such as this one, are allowed under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), which grants officials and citizens the right to express their desire for new regulations, deregulations, or modifications to existing regulations, according to the Center for Effective Government.
The APA does not specify the exact rules that federal agencies must follow when receiving Petitions for Rulemaking. However, they are required to respond “within a reasonable time” and provide petitioners with prompt notice and an explanation when approving or denying the petitions, as stated by the Administrative Conference of the United States.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
What are the concerns raised by the coalition of attorney generals regarding the parole system and its impact on national security and public safety?
Sition from a Border Patrol agent who testified that the parole system had led to an increase in illegal immigration and had made it more difficult for agents to do their jobs effectively.
The coalition of attorney generals argues that the parole system undermines the rule of law and allows illegal immigrants to be released into communities without proper vetting or oversight. They believe that this poses a threat to national security and public safety.
Furthermore, they argue that the parole system is unfair to legal immigrants who have followed the proper channels to enter the country. They argue that giving parole to illegal immigrants creates an incentive for others to enter the country illegally, undermining the immigration system as a whole.
It is worth noting that this is not the first time that the parole system has faced legal challenges. During the Obama administration, the policy of releasing illegal immigrants on parole was also criticized. However, the Trump administration ended the parole program in 2017, only for it to be reinstated by the Biden administration.
In conclusion, the coalition of attorney generals is calling on the Department of Homeland Security to comply with the federal ruling and put an end to the controversial “catch-and-release” policy. They argue that the parole system undermines border security, national security, and public safety, and is unfair to legal immigrants who have followed the proper channels to enter the country. It remains to be seen how the Biden administration will respond to these calls, and whether any changes will be made to the parole system in the future.
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