Shortly before the end of Title 42, a federal judge in Florida granted a request by Florida attorney general Ashley Moody for a temporary restraining order on the Department of Homeland Security's reported plans to release migrants more quickly when Border Patrol holding stations are full.
Moody filed a lawsuit against DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Thursday before the expiration of Title 42, a pandemic policy that allowed the Department of Homeland Security to immediately expel migrants who had crossed the U.S.-Mexico border illegally.
What You Need To Know
- Florida's Attorney General is requesting a temporary restraining order
- A federal judge says DHS' reported plans for 'en masse' migrant releases would violate a March 8 court order
- The judge demanded an 'expedited response' from Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas
- Mayorkas responded to questions and defended the plan during Thursday's White House press conference
- Related Coverage:
Moody filed an emergency motion for a temporary restraining order on the department’s reported plans for dealing with the expected surge of illegal migration when Title 42 expired at midnight Friday.
If accurate, “it appears that DHS is preparing to flout the Court’s order in Florida v. United States,” U.S. District Judge T. Kent Wetherell said in a Thursday order to Mayorkas, requiring an “expedited response.”
Wetherell's order referred to the ruling he handed down on March 8, after the state of Florida presented evidence the department was “releasing aliens arriving at the Southwest Border into the country en masse through various non-detention policies.”
Moody pointed directly to an NBC News article from Wednesday, which reported Biden administration officials had authorized Customs and Border Protection to release migrants “into the U.S. without court dates or the ability to track them.”
Mayorkas said Thursday during a White House press conference that Biden's would not be the first administration to release large numbers of migrants into the U.S., when facilities exceed capacity.
In anticipation of Title 42 coming to an end, along with the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency on May 11, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation on Wednesday that makes it a felony to transport someone you know, or reasonably should know, is living in the country illegally. The law also requires all employers with more than 25 employees to use E-Verify.