WASHINGTON—Yesterday, the Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI) filed a brief in the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals opposing the Biden administration’s attempt to restart two of its programs for paroling massive numbers of illegal aliens into the country.
A Florida federal district court blocked the administration from implementing these programs when it granted the state of Florida a preliminary injunction against them. The administration has appealed that ruling to the Eleventh Circuit, and also has asked that court to stay—that is, suspend—the district court’s injunction during that appeal. That stay, if granted, would allow the programs to go into effect again.
In its brief, IRLI shows that the administration has no hope of success in its appeal, and thus a stay should not be granted. IRLI makes the crucial argument that, under the parole statute, parole must only be given on a case-by-case basis for “urgent humanitarian reasons” or “significant public benefit.”
The only benefit to the public from these programs the administration claims is that they will relieve overcrowding in detention centers. That “benefit,” however, is not advanced significantly by paroling any individual alien, but only by granting parole en masse to many aliens. And, of course, en masse parole violates the statute because it is not given on a case-by-case basis.
“The willingness of this administration to do flatly illegal things is staggering, and it must be held to account in court” said Dale L. Wilcox, executive director and general counsel of IRLI. “We hope the Eleventh Circuit agrees that this appeal is doomed, and accordingly refuses to unleash these harmful and unlawful programs on the country.”
The case is Florida v. United States, No. 23-11528 (Eleventh Circuit).
