A federal judge in Florida on Wednesday ordered President Joe Biden’s administration to vacate and review a policy that has granted parole to tens of thousands of undocumented migrants arriving at the U.S. southern border.
The ruling was issued by Thomas Kent Wetherell II, a judge appointed by former President Donald Trump, who in a 109-page opinion accused Biden of being responsible for the country’s border crisis.
The Department of Homeland Security is studying the implications of the ruling, which states that the administration’s policy of parole and alternatives to detention is vacated and remanded to the agency for “further proceedings consistent with the opinion and order.” Wetherell gave DHS a week to “seek appellate review.”
The parole process allows migrants to be released into the country while they await immigration proceedings.
The ruling stems from a lawsuit Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody filed against the Biden administration in 2021 with the backing of Gov. Ron DeSantis, a constant critic of Biden’s immigration policies. DeSantis, who is believed to be laying the groundwork for an expected presidential campaign, has made immigration a cornerstone of his platform.
During the four-day trial, the Biden administration argued that Florida’s legal arguments should be resolved at the “voting booth, not the courtroom.” But the state contended the federal government’s policies were harming Florida by raising the cost of services such as education, healthcare and unemployment services.
At the conclusion of the trial, there was little dispute that current federal immigration laws are “messy,” and that it was hard to predict the full impact a court decision would have on current immigration procedures.
Wetherell told both parties that the situation at the border “doesn’t seem to be a sustainable situation.” The judge said he wanted to see the issue resolved, but acknowledged his order was likely to be appealed and that the legal dispute would be ultimately resolved “at a higher pay grade.”
“The evidence establishes that the current status quo at the southwest border is unsustainable, but it is not the court’s job to solve the immigration crisis — that is the job of the political branches,” Wetherell wrote in Wednesday’s order.
He said the Biden administration has “turned the southwest border into a meaningless line in the sand and little more than a speed bump,” while also acknowledging that the executive branch has not “completely abdicated its statutory responsibilities” because it still detains a “substantial number” of migrants at the border every month.
Moody took a victory lap following the court ruling.
“Today’s ruling affirms what we have known all along, President Biden is responsible for the border crisis and his unlawful immigration policies make this country less safe,” Moody said in a statement.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
