A federal judge in Florida on Thursday blocked the Biden Administration’s plan to release thousands of migrants into the U.S. without court dates or the ability to track them, hours before the expiration of Title 42.
Granting the request of Republican officials in Florida, U.S. District Judge Kent Wetherell ordered a halt to the “quick release” policy supported by the Biden administration which allows for migrants to cross into the U.S. without first enrolling them with Immigration and Customs Enforcement offices for court dates, NBC News reported.
The temporary halt, set to expire in 14 days, was ordered to take effect May 11 at 11:59 p.m. ET “to correspond with the expiration of the Title 42 Order and to give Defendants an opportunity to seek an emergency stay from a higher court,” the outlet reported.
BREAKING: Federal judge blocks Biden admin from releasing migrants without court dates as Title 42 expires https://t.co/gZTbfKpWJ9
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Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) officials criticized the order on Thursday, arguing it would result in overcrowding at already overrun border facilities. “This is a harmful ruling that will result in unsafe overcrowding at CBP facilities and undercut our ability to efficiently process and remove migrants, and risks creating dangerous conditions for border patrol agents and migrants,” CBP said in a statement, according to CBS News. (RELATED: ‘I’m Dreading Going Into Work’: Border Agents Express Worry Ahead Of Title 42’s End)
With 60,000 migrants poised on the southern border, Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz explained to the outlet that those released into the U.S. through the “quick release” policy are “vetted and cleared, and…pose no significant threat to the community.”
Wetherell contended, however, the Biden Administration officials were ignoring federal law with the policy which requires the immigrants entering the country illegally to be detained, Politico reported.
Citing a similar order in November 2021, Wetherell argued, “in both instances, aliens are being released into the country on an expedited basis without being placed in removal proceedings and with little to no vetting and no monitoring,” the outlet stated.