Attorney General Miyares Urges President Biden to Fix Unlawful Immigration Loophole and Secure the Border

RICHMOND, Va. — Attorney General Jason Miyares today joined a coalition of 27 attorneys general in a legal filing urging that President Biden fix unlawful immigration policies and secure the United States' southern border. The Biden Administration’s border policies have resulted in more than seven million inadmissible immigrants surging across the border. The coalition demands that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) amend its unlawful policies to expressly prohibit the mass release of inadmissible immigrants into the U.S.

The coalition of Attorneys General submitted a Petition for Rulemaking to amend the DHS’s catch-and-release policies, stating that the policies are blatantly unlawful and have detrimental effects on the security of our country. The petition states: “As the court found in Florida, DHS’s mass release policies have been ‘akin to posting a flashing ‘Come In, We’re Open’ sign on the southern border’…In August 2023, Border Patrol released 100,585 aliens under § 1226(a). Florida anticipates that the numbers in August and September will be even higher, especially given DHS’s decision to set release quotas for Border Patrol to meet. Even if the numbers merely remain the same, DHS is releasing aliens at a rate of over one million per year, and that does not include the aliens being released on parole under § 1182(d)(5).”

“I’m calling on the Biden Administration to take immediate action to secure our southern border by swiftly amending the catch-and-release loophole the Department of Homeland Security continues to shamelessly exploit,” said Attorney General Miyares. “If the Biden Administration actually wants to take effective steps to invest in public safety, I cannot think of a more urgent place for it to start.”

In addition to unlawfully releasing inadmissible immigrants into the U.S., DHS is giving the migrants released under the unlawful practices a court date many years in the future. DHS’s unlawful decisions are allowing millions of unauthorized immigrants to remain in the U.S. for 15 years or longer before ever approaching a judge’s bench.

Virginia joined the following states in signing onto this action: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming.

To read the Petition for Rulemaking, click here.

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