WASHINGTON—Today, the Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI) filed a friend-of-the-court brief in opposition to the Biden administration’s petition to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals to stay—that is, suspend—a Texas federal district court ruling vacating its policy of releasing vast numbers of dangerous alien criminals, rather than detaining and deporting them as the law requires.
The administration claims that Congress has stripped federal courts of jurisdiction to hear the case, and thus the district court had no authority to issue its ruling. In its brief, IRLI takes issue with this claim, showing that, though the jurisdiction-stripping statute in question removes jurisdiction to hear class-action claims by aliens who as individuals can still bring claims under immigration law, it does not remove jurisdiction to hear claims by the state plaintiffs in this case, which have no such alternate remedy in immigration law.
“If the administration wins its stay, it will go on releasing criminal aliens while its appeal of the district court’s ruling winds through the courts,” explained Dale L. Wilcox, executive director and general counsel of IRLI. “That outcome would be unacceptable from a public-safety standpoint alone. And it is also vitally important that states, which bear the brunt of immigration law-enforcement failures, have an avenue for holding the administration to account in the courts. We hope the Fifth Circuit refuses to abdicate its clear duty here, and denies the administration the extra time it seeks to violate the law and endanger Americans.”
The case is Texas v. United States, No. 22-40367 (Fifth Circuit).
