by Katarina Hall
A federal judge in Florida ruled Wednesday that the Biden Administration’s “catch and release” border policy is illegal.
Federal Judge T. Kent Wetherell, of the Pensacola Division of the Northern District of Florida, entered a 109-page ruling ruling that the policy that allows Border Patrol agents to release undocumented immigrants who cross the border to the United States instead of deporting them is illegal and “should be struck down.”
The ruling also blocks the Biden Administration’s use of “alternatives to detention” for undocumented immigrants being paroled, including anklets, phone surveillance and checks by immigration officials.
The judge gave the Administration seven days to file an appeal before having to comply with federal law and his ruling.
“Today’s ruling affirms what we have known for a long time, President Biden is responsible for the border crisis and his illegal immigration policies make this country less safe,” said Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, who filed a lawsuit against the policy in March 2021. “A federal judge now orders Biden to comply with the law, and his Administration must immediately begin securing the border to protect the American people.”
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Katarina Hall is a reporter for ADN America.
