February 2, 2022 Contact: Kylie Mason Phone: (850) 245-0150

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Attorney General Ashley Moody is taking legal action against the Biden administration for ignoring federal immigration law as the out-of-control situation at the U.S. southwest border continues. Attorney General Moody today filed an amended complaint challenging President Joe Biden’s latest unlawful immigration policy. Instead of commencing immigration court proceedings against illegal immigrants caught at the border, the federal government is releasing them into the interior without even starting the legal process for their removal. The government is calling this unlawful policy “Parole + Alternatives to Detention.”

The amended complaint comes after shocking evidence uncovered dozens of adult-male illegal immigrants brought to a U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement office, and then bussed to a nearby airport to be sent to their chosen destination inside the United States, including Miami according to news reports.

Attorney General Ashley Moody said, “It is appalling that the president is using taxpayer dollars to fund his open-borders agenda—even facilitating flights to transport illegal immigrants around our own country. Beyond that, his brazen lack of responsibility has led to the absolutely out-of-control conditions at our southwest border—where our border agents came into contact with more than 2 million illegal immigrants last year. While the president’s policies are helping human traffickers, criminals and deadly drugs find their way across the border and into Florida, I remain committed to fighting to protect Floridians from this disaster.”

Governor Ron DeSantis said, "The Biden administration has not only consciously refused to enforce immigrations laws, but it has also developed an operation to secretly resettle illegal aliens into communities across Florida and the rest of the United States. They're doing this in the dark of night without any coordination with states, without any background checks, and without any efforts to initiate the legal process for their removal. I am glad Attorney General Moody is continuing our fight to hold the Biden administration accountable for its reckless disregard for immigration laws."

In September 2021, Florida filed a challenge to the Biden administration’s catch-and-release border practices that ignore federal law. According to federal law, arriving immigrants, including those claiming asylum, are required to be detained while immigration courts determine if there is a valid basis to enter the United States. As a result of this litigation, the federal government abandoned its “notice to report policy”—which media reports characterized as “immigration by the honor system.” But the “Parole + Alternatives to Detention” policy is yet another unlawful policy out the Biden of this administration.

Recently, video footage emerged showing dozens of single-adult illegal immigrants lined up to get on busses outside of an ICE facility office in Texas. The buses were then driven to the local airport, where the illegal immigrants were flown to their destination of choice within the U.S., with at least one of the immigrants admitting to be heading to Miami. This seems to violate the Biden administration’s own procedures under Title 42, where single adult illegal immigrants would not be admitted to the country for public health reasons.

To learn more about the initial suit filed in September, click here.

To view the amended complaint, click here.