A rollercoaster ride is exhilarating, breathtaking and designed to take people on unexpected turns. The same can be said of the American election season. Last November was a rollercoaster for the United States public. The political animosity exhibited when President Joe Biden (D) won the 2020 presidential election has served as a precursor to the intense partisanship demonstrated since, recently culminating in Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody’s (R) lawsuit against the Biden administration.
Moody’s lawsuit was filed on the basis that Biden’s administration has failed to complete its obligation to deport illegal immigrants by issuing memos with limiting instructions for law enforcement when handling such cases. Moody is spearheading the campaign against Biden as she believes that by not deporting illegal immigrants, Biden is not fulfilling his duties as president of the United States.
She told Fox News earlier this month when speaking about a memo from Biden that, “It is required to deport criminal aliens that are here illegally and [the memo] is just saying we’re not going to do it anymore.”
In her interview, Moody asserts that a presidential administration is required to make deportations and uphold the law, and by not doing so, the Biden administration is liable to be sued for their actions. This comes in the wake of Biden issuing several memos on Jan. 20 and Feb. 18, providing instructions meant to limit the Department of Homeland Security and outlining the range and notion of considering priorities for deporting illegal immigrants and the enforcement of interior immigration policies.
One of the aspects of the memos that Moody found particularly objectionable was detailed in the Jan. 20 memo that “sets interim policies during the course of that review, including a 100-day pause on certain removals to enable focusing the department’s resources where they are most needed.”
Moody stated that she believes the memo’s guidelines put “Floridians and our law enforcement officers in greater danger.” Biden’s actions have led her to issue a 28-page complaint against Biden for placing upon Florida’s law enforcement additional work and undue burden.
These memos have been a source of controversy among other states as well. In Texas, a federal judge blocked the interim policies issued in the Jan. 20 memo, specifically in regard to the 100-day pause. This judicial blockage of the interim policies led to the Biden administration publishing the Feb. 18 memo as a way of addressing the negative feedback received.
Not only have Biden’s memos stirred controversy, but Moody’s comments have been disputed for being factually inaccurate.
When discussing her stance on the memos, Moody mentions that she believed that the policies threaten the safety of Florida citizens and citizens of the entire nation. Moody goes on to say “[law enforcement is] having to release these people back into your states” all the while claiming that the released are “serious criminal offenders” “heroin traffickers” and “people breaking into homes.”
However, the memos specifically mention the lifting of immigration detainers, which are notices sent out by the DHS to local law enforcement for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to take custody of an individual who was arrested and is now being released from local law enforcement. Therefore, the memo lifting the use of immigration detainers does not call for the release of any persons, it only prevents ICE from assuming custody of illegal immigrants being released from the custody of law enforcement.
Nonetheless, Moody and her team continue to persist in attempting to sue the Biden administration over the immigration memos. If this is any indication of the next three and a half years of Biden’s first term in office, the American people are in for a ride.
Featured image: A group celebrates Biden’s election in 2020; a sign can be seen with the words “Immigrants Are #HereToStay.” Unmodified image by Sdkb used under a Creative Commons license. (https://bit.ly/3w2QTD1)
Check out other recent articles from the Florida Political Review here.
One Comment
Robin Wade
I would like to sue the Biden administration for anxiety. Every time I put gas in my vehicle and every time I go to get groceries.