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The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday allowed the Biden administration to restore guidelines that would order Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to deport immigrants who pose a national security threat.
The court determined in an 8-1 ruling that the Republican state attorneys general in Texas and Louisiana lacked standing, or legal right, to challenge enforcement policies by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which includes instructions for ICE to detain and deport certain immigrants, with a focus on those who committed serious crimes, according to the majority opinion written by Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
"In sum, the States have brought an extraordinarily unusual lawsuit. They want a federal court to order the Executive Branch to alter its arrest policies so as to make more arrests," Kavanaugh wrote in the opinion along with Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson, while Justice Samuel Alito dissented.
"Federal courts have not traditionally entertained that kind of lawsuit; indeed, the States cite no precedent for a lawsuit like this."
The ruling also restricts the rules by which states may challenge federal policies that they are critical of.
The ruling warned of the consequences of the demands by Texas and Louisiana, saying, "if the Court green-lighted this suit, we could anticipate complaints in future years about alleged Executive Branch under-enforcement of any similarly worded laws—whether they be drug laws, gun laws, obstruction of justice laws, or the like.
"We decline to start the Federal Judiciary down that uncharted path. Our constitutional system of separation of powers 'contemplates a more restricted role for Article III courts,'" it added.
A spokesperson for the Louisiana attorney general's office told Newsweek on Friday that the state filed the lawsuit because Biden "failed" to protect the country by "ignoring Congress and releasing violent criminal aliens into our communities.
"The Supreme Court specifically did not endorse the Biden Administration lawlessly releasing killers and child rapists onto American streets. Rather, the Court noted that Congress could not only authorize lawsuits against the Executive Branch by a specified group of plaintiffs that have suffered harm, but also authorize judicial remedies.
"Congress should pass legislation allowing states to hold federal government officials accountable for their unlawful conduct. Louisiana will continue pursuing every legal avenue to defend the rights of Americans injured by Biden's dangerous immigration policies."
Meanwhile, Brent Webster, Texas' first assistant attorney general, told Newsweek in an emailed statement that the attorney general's office is "extremely disappointed" by the Court's decision.
"The court ruled that Texas did not have standing to challenge the federal government's harmful 'prioritization guidelines' that protected certain classes of criminal aliens from arrest, and therefore the court failed to consider the merits of the case," Webster said. "The state of Texas and our citizens are disproportionately affected by the Biden Administration's unlawful immigration policies, and Texas has played a key role in forcing accountability through the court system. Our office will continue to advocate for the rights of our citizens and uphold the Constitution against Biden's open borders onslaught."
The decision is a major win for President Joe Biden and his administration as they have repeatedly argued that, because of limited resources, they need to prioritize which migrants should be detained and deported, according to CNN.
Texas and Louisiana alleged in their lawsuit that Biden's immigration policy had a direct negative impact because of increased costs for services such as education and health care.
In 2021, the Department of Homeland Security announced that it will carry out the Guidelines for the Enforcement of Civil Immigration Law signed by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas in September of that year.
"Today is an important step forward in ensuring that our workforce is empowered to exercise its prosecutorial discretion and focus its enforcement efforts on those who pose a threat to our national security, public safety, and border security," Mayorkas said at the time.
"DHS will carry out our mission to safeguard our country justly and humanely. In making our enforcement decisions, we will focus our efforts on the greatest threats while also recognizing that the majority of undocumented noncitizens, who have been here for many years and who have contributed positively to our country's well-being, are not priorities for removal."
Newsweek reached out to the offices of the state attorneys general of Texas and Louisiana by email for comment.
Update 6/23/23, 1:55 p.m. ET: This story has been updated with comment from a spokesperson for the Louisiana attorney general's office.
Update 6/24/23, 12:48 p.m. ET: This story has been updated with comment from Brent Webster.
About the writer
Fatma Khaled is a Newsweek weekend reporter based in New York City. Her focus is reporting on U.S. politics, world ... Read more