Texas sheriffs and ICE officers sue Biden for not deporting criminal illegal immigrants

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Anna Giaritelli
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Texas sheriffs have filed a lawsuit accusing the Biden administration of preventing federal officials from arresting or deporting criminal illegal immigrants.

The suit comes after Immigration and Customs Enforcement refused to take custody and deport illegal immigrants arrested locally due to a new Biden administration policy, including one man who had previously been deported and who had been convicted of sexual battery of a child.

Five counties and five sheriff’s departments, along with ICE employees from a national law enforcement organization, filed a complaint in the federal court of the Southern District of Texas Thursday afternoon. The complaint alleges the decision by President Joe Biden and Department of Homeland Security officials has enticed criminals to illegally immigrate to the United States, affecting local law enforcement operations and communities.

“The ICE officers involved in this case are absolutely astounded at what their superiors are asking them to do: releasing people charged with rape of a child, releasing people charged with dealing drugs and resisting arrest,” said Kris Kobach, the former Kansas attorney general and lead attorney for the plaintiffs, in a phone call. “These are really serious criminals, and ICE is being ordered by the political leadership of the Biden administration to turn them loose.”

On Feb. 18, acting ICE Director Tae Johnson issued a memo stating the only immigrants the agency would take into custody without first obtaining permission of ICE leadership would be those viewed as a threat to national security, border security, or public safety. Unless an immigrant was a known or suspected terrorist, had entered the country before the 2020 presidential election, or had been convicted of an aggravated felony or a member of a criminal gang, ICE employees would have to seek permission from managers to take custody of a person at the request of local police.

NEW INCREASE IN MIGRANT CHILDREN AT BORDER FIVE MONTHS INTO BIDEN TENURE

Before the Feb. 18 change, illegal immigrants arrested by a sheriff’s department could be turned over to ICE, where they would face deportation proceedings before a judge. The February change has forced sheriffs to release criminal immigrants back onto the street rather than set them up for removal from the U.S., which they state in the lawsuit is a violation of federal law stating illegal immigrants, regardless of criminal history, shall be detained while removal proceedings are initiated.

“The Biden administration policy stands in direct violation of not one, but three, different federal statutes,” Kobach, who heads the Kansas-based Alliance for Free Citizens, wrote in a statement. “Congress has mandated that the executive branch must detain and remove certain illegal aliens, but the Biden Administration is ignoring the law. The administration’s actions have forced ICE to stand down and have almost brought deportations to a halt. That has fueled the crisis at the border, encouraging more illegal immigration. It has also created an unbearable burden for local law enforcement in Texas.”

A man deported four times and convicted of domestic violence, evading arrest, and multiple counts of driving under the influence does not fit the public safety threat category. When local law enforcement asked ICE to take custody of him because of his record, the department refused, and the man was released.

Another man who was ordered to be deported by a federal immigration judge and now facing an aggravated assault charge was also released. A third man who illegally crossed the border was arrested by local police for the rape of a child, but ICE denied the request.

Since the policy went into effect, ICE arrests have dropped by two-thirds. The sheriffs said it has also “fueled” the surge of noncitizens attempting to get into the U.S. in the four months since, even though illegal immigrants who came over the border during the Biden administration and are arrested are one of the few categories ICE will arrest.

The plaintiffs argued the memo was issued without considering harm to the public and without giving notice or seeking comment as required by the Administrative Procedure Act. As a result of the change, ICE employees are “rarely” approving the arrests of people outside those three categories.

The complaint also states Johnson was not legally allowed to issue the memo. It should have been issued by DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, named in the lawsuit along with Troy Miller, the senior official performing the commissioner's duties at Customs and Border Protection.

The plaintiffs include Kinney County Sheriff Brad Coe, Montgomery County Sheriff Rand Henderson, Montgomery County, Edwards County Sheriff J.W. Guthrie, Edwards County, McMullen County Sheriff Emmett Shelton, McMullen County, Hudspeth County Sheriff Arwin West, Hudspeth County, Galveston County, and the ICE officers division of the Federal Police Foundation.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Kobach was a close ally to former President Donald Trump and appointed to a commission to determine the extent of voter fraud present in U.S. elections. The commission concluded voter fraud was not widespread.

Kobach was also involved in a privately funded effort to build a border wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.

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Tags: News, ICE, Kansas, Law, Joe Biden, White House, Crime, Law Enforcement, Texas

Original Author: Anna Giaritelli

Original Location: Texas sheriffs and ICE officers sue Biden for not deporting criminal illegal immigrants

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