Summarized from The Miami Herald
Stating that the Biden Administration has “ “turned the southwest border into a meaningless line in the sand and little more than a speed bump,” Trump appointed Federal Judge Thomas Kent Wetherell II of Florida ordered that the policy granting parole to tens of thousands of undocumented immigrants at the southern border be vacated. Parole allows migrants to be released into the United States while they wait for immigration proceedings.
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody filed the lawsuit in 2021 stating that the Parole Policy is harming the state of Florida by raising costs around education, healthcare and unemployment services. The Biden Administration contends that any changes should be made in the voting booth and not in the court system.
In his decision, Judge Wetherell said that the evidence is that the situation at the border is unsustainable but that it is “not the court’s job to solve the immigration crisis – that is the job of the political branches.”
Attorney General Moody stated, after the ruling, that “…President Biden is responsible for the border crisis and his unlawful immigration policies make this country less safe.”
Judge Weatherall has acknowledged that his decision is likely to be appealed. The state of Texas, along with 20 other states including Florida, is also challenging the Parole Program.
