The Quote Below—More Misinformation from the Media
“For many years Congress has dithered on revising its immigration policies. . . . So given all the division expressed over immigration, it was good to see some unity regarding a particular point. Last month, the U.S Supreme Court sided with the Biden Administration on whether states may force the executive branch’s hand when it comes to border policy enforcement.
“The Supreme Court on [June 23] upheld a key part of President Joe Biden’s plan for targeted immigration law enforcement, ruling that the administration may focus on arresting and deporting those who pose a current danger. . . . “[As reported by the Los Angeles Times] The decision tossed out a lawsuit filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton before a conservative judge in Corpus Christi, Texas. . . . [He] ruled that the Biden economic policy was illegal. . . .
“In the [Supreme’ Court’s] majority opinion, [Judge] Kavanaugh articulated why the lawsuit should be dismissed. He followed the rationale promoted with regularity by conservatives that legislation should not be made from the bench. . . . Deciding how the executive branch should carry out its work . . . is not the job of state officials.” – Supreme Court Makes the Right Call on Immigration Case, Editorial, the Daily News 7/15/23 [Link]
Fact Check of Above Quote: The Biden Administration claims it has limited resources to enforce immigration law. Therefore, it must give priority to arresting and deporting illegal aliens who are dangerous criminals. The dishonesty is overwhelming. The administration doesn’t have adequate resources because it doesn’t request them and doesn’t want them.
Furthermore, it’s not even interested in deporting dangerous criminals. That was the message of former ICE Field Office Director John Fabbricatore in recent testimony before Congress. He cited statistics showing that enforcement against dangerous aliens, rather than increasing under Biden, has significantly declined since Biden became president. Fabbricatore rhetorically asked, “Based on these statistics, is there any conclusion that can be drawn by a logical, reasonable person, other than that the real goal of these priorities is to limit immigration enforcement in the interior of the United States, regardless of the risk to public safety and national security that the illegal alien poses?”
The truth is that the Biden Administration isn’t really trying to set priorities. It simply refuses to enforce the law against most illegal aliens. DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has affirmed that “The fact an individual is a removable noncitizen will not alone be the basis of an enforcement action against them.” He also noted that many aliens should be left alone because “they make our nation stronger.”
In effect, Mayorkas is deciding which laws he will enforce and which ones he won’t. This is not an authority that he has, as a member of the executive branch. Congress is the lawmaking body, and the executive is supposed to enforce the laws passed by Congress.
This was the basis of the lawsuit referenced in this editorial. The states were not calling on the Supreme Court to “make law from the bench.” They were asking the Court to make Mayorkas follow the constitutional division of powers. The states maintained that they had standing in the case because of the problems that unchecked illegal immigration was causing them.
Only one judge, Samuel Alito, dissented from the majority opinion. He stated, “The Secretary of Homeland Security . . . has instructed his agents to disobey this legislative command and instead follow a different policy that is more to his liking. And the Court now says that no party injured by this policy is allowed to challenge it in court.” He said the Court’s ruling was “deeply and dangerously” flawed. Alito made the right call on this case.