Sheriffs, ICE Officers Sue Biden Administration for Immigration Non-Enforcement
Complaint alleges child sex offenders—among others—are being returned to the community
On Thursday, four Texas sheriffs, their counties, and the Federal Police Foundation—which represents ICE officers—filed a complaint in federal court in the Southern District of Texas, seeking an injunction of Biden administration policies that are blocking enforcement of Congress’s mandates in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). They have revealed that child sex offenders—and other dangerous aliens—are being released back into the community, instead of being detained and removed.
Biden’s policies are primarily set forth in a memorandum issued by then-Acting DHS Secretary David Pekoske on January 20, captioned "Review of and Interim Revision to Civil Immigration Enforcement and Removal Policies and Priorities” and a February 18 memo from Acting ICE Director Tae Johnson, captioned “Interim Guidance: Civil Immigration Enforcement and Removal Priorities”.
I analyzed both extensively in a February post, but basically the January 20 memo established “interim enforcement priorities” pending the outcome of an ongoing policy review, and ordered an “immediate pause on removals . . . for 100 days.”
The “priorities” for immigration enforcement under that memo are extremely narrow: terrorists, spies, and other national-security risks; aliens apprehended entering illegally after October 31, 2020; and criminal aliens incarcerated on aggravated felonies.
Note that by “immigration enforcement”, that memo meant not just removals, but also questioning, stops, arrests, detentions, prosecutions, and paroles.
There was no real explanation in that memo for this policy, nor any consideration of the public-safety consequences that would result therefrom.
Nor was there any in the February 18 memo, which was largely a carryover of the January 20 one.
Among the differences in the latter memo were that a very limited number of gang members were added as ICE priorities for questioning, arrest, detention, and removal, and other aliens convicted of aggravated felonies were also included, provided that they posed a threat to “public safety”.
You might assume that every alien gang member and aggravated felon poses a threat to public safety, but if you did, you would be a bad fit for the Biden policy team.
That’s because in assessing whether a gang member or aggravated felon poses a threat to public safety, the immigration enforcement officer now also has to consider how recent the conviction was, the alien’s family and personal situation, family ties, and whether the alien is in poor health.
Oh, and any rehabilitation.
These stringent restrictions on enforcement also apply to agents and officers in placing detainers on currently detained or incarcerated aliens.
https://cis.org/Arthur/Sheriffs-ICE-Officers-Sue-Biden-Administration-Immigration-NonEnforcement