John,

Every single day, whether due to a limitation of human or financial resources, law enforcement agencies use prosecutorial discretion on which violations of the law they are willing or able to enforce. That’s what makes the U.S. Supreme Court’s latest decision so mind boggling.

In a 5-4 ruling late this past week, SCOTUS blocked the Biden administration’s ability to instruct ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) to focus enforcement on individuals who pose a threat to public safety or national security―even after Congress enacted a law requiring the executive branch to set immigration enforcement priorities.

The Biden administration’s approach to focus resources against public safety threats is a common sense approach for using what had previously been long-settled executive branch powers.

By siding with the State of Texas over the administration, at least until arguments are heard later this year, the Supreme Court has once again put political ideology ahead of legal precedent. In this case, the court is siding with a Trump-era approach to our immigration policies rather than allowing the new administration to chart a new course, well within established precedent.

CHN is fighting every day for humane immigration policies that prioritize the rights and humanity of asylum seekers and migrant workers. Will you pitch in to keep fighting to protect the rights of the most vulnerable?

Last September, Joe Biden’s Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas issued a decision to ICE’s acting director to prioritize enforcement against undocumented immigrants who “pose a threat to national security, public safety, and border security and thus threaten America’s well-being.” This is perfectly within Secretary Mayorkas’ rights and tracks with similar memos setting enforcement priorities by the secretary’s predecessors.

But, after Texas and Louisiana’s attorneys general asked a Trump judge to intervene, the Biden administration was blocked from adopting its own immigration policies―not just in Texas and Louisiana, but nationwide. Now SCOTUS has at least temporarily upheld the lower court’s ruling.

Even worse, the final ruling may encourage states to contest a wide range of federal policies if they result in any state costs, drastically undermining federal authority―in immigration, environmental protection, or other matters.  

Join CHN in fighting for the rights of all people―particularly marginalized communities. Chip in today to demand humane immigration policies that put the needs of people ahead of hate and political ideology.

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Thank you for fighting for a future that includes all of us.

Deborah Weinstein
Executive Director, Coalition on Human Needs