ACTIVIST JUDICIAL RULINGS BLOCK THE ADMINISTRATION FROM ENFORCING OUR NATION’S IMMIGRATION LAWS

Office of the Press Secretary FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 11, 2019

ACTIVIST JUDICIAL RULINGS BLOCK THE ADMINISTRATION FROM ENFORCING OUR NATION’S IMMIGRATION LAWS “In order to have a functioning legal immigration system that serves America’s national interests, we must have rules, laws, conditions, and procedures for entry into the United States—and the violation of these laws and rules must be enforced.” – President Donald J. Trump   BLOCKED FROM ENFORCING CONGRESSIONALLY ENACTED IMMIGRATION LAW: President Donald J. Trump is working tirelessly to restore enforcement of our immigration laws as enacted, but activist judicial rulings are restricting the Administration from following the plain text of Federal law. One shocking judicial ruling after another has barred the Administration from enforcing the immigration laws passed by Congress. Judicial decree after judicial decree has ordered the Administration to comply with the discretionary policies of previous administrations. Last week, a district court in California issued a sweeping opinion that threatens to block Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from effectively using detainers to arrest and remove certain criminal aliens in the custody of State and local law enforcement.   These detainers are the backbone of immigration enforcement in America and are responsible for the vast majority of all criminal aliens removed from the United States. When criminal aliens are arrested in local custody, they are run through a Federal database – if that database confirms they are deportable, ICE lodges detainers.  Cooperative jurisdictions then notify ICE when an alien subject to a detainer will be released and may hold them up to 48 hours, until ICE can take custody of the alien.  This process is how gang members, murderers, rapists, drug dealers, and many other criminals are safely removed from our streets every single day.  Without this mechanism, thousands of criminals would go free and commit more crimes in our communities. Detainers have been issued for decades to remove criminals from our communities – with more than 1.5 million detainers issued under the Obama administration. SAFETY AND SECURITY ARE UNDERMINED: Activist rulings are undermining efforts to keep our communities safe, protect our national security, and enforce our laws. ICE’s ability to issue detainers is vital to carrying out Congress’s requirement to deport and remove criminal aliens from the country.   ICE has made approximately 140,000 arrests this year, three-quarters of which have come from ICE working with jails and prisons. Without detainers, ICE would be severely hampered in its efforts to prevent dangerous criminal aliens from being released into our communities – putting the safety and security of Americans at risk.    The brave men and women of ICE have also been hindered by sanctuary jurisdictions that are defying Federal authorities and actively releasing known criminals.  Further, State officials have recently undercut local law enforcement who partner with ICE to help identify criminal aliens under the 287(g) program. NATIONWIDE INJUNCTIONS: President Trump has faced an unprecedented flurry of improper nationwide injunctions, thwarting needed, lawful immigration enforcement. Activist rulings have continually blocked the Administration from implementing policies that comply with the plain meaning and clear intent of the law, as passed by Congress. The Administration has been enjoined from restoring the full statutory window established by Congress for expedited removals under 8 U.S.C. 1225 (b)(1)(A)(iii). The Administration was enjoined when the President took action under section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to protect our national security by restricting the entry of certain aliens – an injunction the Supreme Court overturned. The Administration’s efforts to end the Flores loophole, a loophole which violates the removal and detention mandates passed by Congress, were enjoined.    The Administration’s efforts under section 212(f) of the INA to preserve asylum for those who do not cross our borders illegally were enjoined nationwide. The Administration’s efforts to wind down the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which was implemented by the previous administration in an end-around of Congress, were enjoined nationwide by the courts. The Administration’s action to preserve asylum for those who have no other place to turn, rather than asylum seekers who failed to seek protection in the other countries they traveled through to reach the United States, was initially enjoined nationwide. Nationwide injunctions allow any one of the more than 600 Federal district judges in the country to effectively set or veto national policy. These nationwide injunctions are a modern invention with no basis in the Constitution. The first documented nationwide injunction was in 1963, meaning no such documented injunctions were issued in the first 175 years of our Nation.