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A Donald Trump-appointed judge provided a legal victory to Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody as part of a lawsuit against the Biden administration.
Judge T. Kent Wetherell, of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida, ruled on Tuesday that Florida's challenge of the federal government's parole policies has legal standing. Wetherell was nominated by Trump in May 2018 and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in July 2019.
Moody was one of 26 Republican state attorneys general who in January sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, warning him and the rest of the Biden administration to "get out of the way" in the ongoing southern border battle dispute. The letter was sent after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that concertina wire erected along the border, under the direction of Texas Governor Greg Abbott, could be taken down by federal agents.
Her lawsuit, on behalf of the state of Florida, claims that the federal government has allowed the release of thousands of illegal migrants that would otherwise not be in the U.S. be it for the current policies in place.
"We are pleased that the court, yet again, found that Biden's illegal policies are causing harm to the state of Florida, and we look forward to defending our victory in the appellate court," Chase Sizemore, Moody's press secretary, told Newsweek via email on Wednesday.
The court filing states that "the policies at issue...do not involve arrest or persecution but rather explain how DHS will exercise its statutory 'parole' authority under [U.S. Criminal Code] with respect to aliens who are already in DHS custody after arriving at the Southwest Border."
It also states that if the policies were not previously enjoined, there would "likely be hundreds of thousands more aliens in the country on 'parole' but not in any sort of immigration proceedings."
It also indicated "thousands more aliens on 'parole' but not in any sort of immigration proceedings and thousands more who would be completely unaccounted for, which would have further exacerbated the harm to Florida."
Moody has been suing the Biden administration since she took office in 2021, including a lawsuit last year intending to prevent a "mass-release" of migrants into the U.S.
Illegal immigration has become a major issue in states like Florida as well as the epicenter that is Texas, where Abbott on Friday announced construction taking place on an 80-acre military base camp that will house some 1,800 soldiers to start and ultimately as many as 2,300 to combat illegal immigration along the Rio Grande.
About the writer
Nick Mordowanec is a Newsweek investigative reporter based in Michigan. His focus includes U.S. and international politics and policies, immigration, ... Read more