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By: The opinion Posted Mar 19, 2023, 10:27 am EDT
The President’s Government Joe Biden He has ruled out filing an appeal over a border program that allowed him to release immigrants while they await a decision on their cases after a federal judge in Florida ruled it illegal.
Its about program called “parole + ATD”that is, probation plus the immigrant’s integration into the alternative to detention program.
Last week, US District Judge Kent Wetherell II blamed President Biden for the border crisis and gave him a seven-day window to file an appeal, which ended Wednesday, the Miami Herald reported.
With the “parole + ATD” program, immigration agents from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) could release immigrants into the countrywhile they await a solution to their cases.
With the decision of Judge Wetherell –appointed by former President Donald Trump–, the immigration agents ofmust provide immigrants with “Notices to Appear” (NTA) and keep them in custody.
Immigrant advocates warned that this decision could lead to overcrowding at the border.
Republican governments in Texas and Florida accused the Biden Administration of freeing thousands of people, but it was Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody who filed the lawsuit that was decided in a bench trial.
This victory for Moody is also a victory for Governor Ron DeSantiswho has been one of the main critics of Biden’s immigration policy, although he faces investigations and lawsuits for the irregular transfer of non-citizens from Texas to Massachusetts, to the island of Martha’s Vineyard.
In his decision, Judge Wetherell notes that Immigration law is clear in indicating that an immigrant must remain in detention while awaiting a decision on their asylum request.
“If said alien indicates intent to apply for asylum or fear of persecution, the alien ‘shall be detained’ pending a final determination of asylum or credible fear of persecution,” he wrote in his 109-page opinion.