Four Texas sheriffs and an association of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers are suing President Joe Biden and his administration over a policy discouraging the deportation of some immigrants who entered the U.S. illegally.
The case stems from a February 18 memorandum that instructed ICE officers to refrain from placing immigrants who are unlawfully present in the United States into removal proceedings unless they fall into certain priority categories.
Those who qualify for deportation include immigrants who pose a national security risk and those convicted of certain felonies, including murder, rape, drug trafficking, and a theft or burglary offense for which the term of imprisonment is at least one year.
The sheriffs contend that the memorandum resulted in a “standdown in ICE enforcement” that “fueled a crisis at the border and in other Texas counties, encouraging a massive surge in illegal immigration.”
This in turn has made it more difficult to enforce state laws in their counties, they claim: “Plaintiff sheriffs are no longer able to present to ICE criminal aliens for removal and expect them to be removed. The detention costs, crime response costs, crime investigation costs, and related costs experienced by the Plaintiff sheriffs and counties have consequently increased dramatically for at least two related reasons.”
“First, criminal aliens who are released instead of detained or removed commit more crimes. Second, the ability of criminal aliens to remain in the United States encourages additional criminal aliens to come here illegally.”
The sheriffs cite several specific cases, including a migrant who was arrested for aggravated assault but whom the Biden Administration would not deport; another migrant arrested for driving under the influence, who had multiple prior convictions for the same offense; and a man arrested for alleged heroin distribution and child endangerment.
The sheriffs are represented by Kris Kobach, an advocate for restrictive immigration policies and former candidate for Kansas governor and U.S. senate. They are asking a federal court in Galveston to declare the ICE memorandum unlawful and vacate it. They also want the court to enjoin the Biden Administration to enforce federal immigration law.
On the other hand, the Biden Administration in its memorandum cited resource constraints as justification for the order: “Like other national security and public safety agencies, ICE operates in an environment of limited resources. Due to these limited resources, ICE has always prioritized, and necessarily must prioritize, certain enforcement and removal actions over others.”
“…Accordingly, in executing its critical national security, border security, and public safety mission, the Department must exercise its well-established prosecutorial discretion and prioritize its limited resources to best achieve that mission.”
The Department of Homeland Security hasn’t responded yet to a request for comment on the lawsuit and the Justice Department hasn’t replied in court.
Migrant Surge
In recent months the number of undocumented migrants reaching the U.S.-Mexico border has hit the highest level in more than 20 years.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection said it apprehended 180,034 migrants in May, of whom they deported 112,302. It was the biggest monthly total since April 2000 with increasing numbers coming from outside Central America.
The number was up slightly from 178,854 in April and 172,000 in March. Countries of origin for the migrants include Ecuador, Venezuela, Cuba, Haiti and some African nations.
Read the Lawsuit
