Florida Attorney General Joins 27 Other States in Petition to End Biden’s ‘Catch and Release’ Border Patrol Policy

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody is seen in a file photograph. Patrick Semansky/AP Photo

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody and a coalition of attorney generals from 27 states are petitioning the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to comply with a March federal ruling and end President Joe Biden’s “catch-and-release” policy, which extends parole to certain illegal immigrants entering the southern border.

Ms. Moody successfully sued the Biden administration over this “extended-release” policy, which paroles illegal immigrants on a case-by-case basis for “urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit,” according to Section 1182 of the U.S. Code 8.

Border patrol officials pursue parole because of limited holding space, court filings indicate. Illegal immigrants on parole are given a smartphone to track them and have to report to authorities within two months after arriving in their intended destination within the United States.

More than 207,000 illegal immigrants were paroled through this program between August 2021 and May 2022 alone, according to court documents. There was a 28 percent increase in expedited releases between April 2022 and May 2022.

Border Patrol paroled a total of 572,575 illegal immigrants in 2022 and broke a record with 130,563 paroled in December alone, according to official data. This number dropped to 5,225 illegal immigrants in January 2023 after the administration announced an online application program for immigrants leaving Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.

Paroled Illegal immigrants are shielded from deportation for set periods, up to a year, but receive no other protections. Agency officials said in a 2022 congressional testimony that holding illegal immigrants at facilities costs $140 a day compared to the $4.36 it costs to pursue detention alternatives such as parole with smartphone tracking.

Advocates also argue that parole frees precious space in detention facilities and is faster than issuing 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

But some Democrats are joining conservatives in pushing back on Biden’s border patrol policies. After receiving buses of illegal immigrants from Texas, New York Mayor Eric Adams (D) went to Mexico in October to plead with those considering crossing the border, asking them to stay home. He argued that the Biden administration was not giving the city the resources to process the influx of illegal immigrants and said the president had “failed” New York completely.

Of the voters polled, 61 percent of Democrats indicated they wanted stronger law enforcement at the border, according to AP VoteCast. Sixty-six percent of independents also disapproved of the president’s border security policies. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Epoch Times.

U.S. District Judge T. Kent Wetherell II, a President Trump appointee, made the March ruling for the lawsuit Ms. Moody filed on behalf of Florida. In his 109-page opinion, the judge argued that Biden has “effectively turned the Southwest Border into a meaningless line in the sand and little more than a speedbump for aliens flooding into the country by prioritizing ‘alternatives to detention’ over actual detention,” with his administration’s illegal immigrant parole policies.

The judge ruled that Biden’s “catch-and-release,” or parole process, is unlawful. The president’s appeal on the ruling is still pending.

During court discovery, Ms. Moody unveiled a deposition from U.S. Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz, where he said Biden purposely lowered detention capacity at Border Patrol facilities, forcing officials to release thousands of illegal immigrants into Florida and other states. Mr. Ortiz said the crisis is “making the border less safe for Americans and immigrants alike.”

More than seven million inadmissible immigrants entered the southwest border during Biden’s reign, including 151 known terrorists in 2023, according to Ms. Moody. Biden has resumed paroling illegal immigrants despite the federal in March, she said.

“The Biden administration must secure our border to protect our national security,” Ms. Moody said in a news release. “Given the risks illustrated by what happened this weekend in Israel, I am leading a coalition of 27 attorneys general taking action to force the Biden administration to enact responsible rulemaking to ensure our nation’s security at our Southern Border.”

Texas National Guard troops set up a "choke point" near an illegal border crossing near El Paso, Texas, on May 9, 2023. John Moore/Getty Images

Ms. Moody’s petition states that Biden’s DHS border policies resulted in 100,585 illegal immigrants released in August 2023. She estimates that more than one million illegal immigrants are released every year.

Ms. Moody’s office said in a news release that illegal immigrants are often given court dates several years into the future, allowing them to remain in the country for up to 15 years or longer before appearing before an immigration judge.

In her petition, she asked the DHS to close the “catch-and-release” loophole in federal law and amend rules determining eligibility for immigrant release and parole.

Attorney generals from 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 signed Ms. Moody’s petition.

Petitions for Rulemaking are allowed under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), which gives officials and citizens the right to express a desire for new regulations, deregulations, or modifications to existing regulations, according to the Center for Effective Government.

The APA does not delineate specific rules each federal agency must follow when receiving Petitions for Rulemaking. Still, they must respond “within a reasonable time” and give petitioners “prompt notice” when denying or approving the petitions and an explanation for why, according to the Administrative Conference of the United States.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.