America’s immigration laws are broken and a brand new ruling by a federal judge has all but destroyed what remained of them by forcing the re-institution of catch-and-release.
A federal judge on Tuesday ruled that U.S. immigration agents could no longer separate immigrant parents and children caught crossing the border from Mexico illegally, and must work to reunite those families that had been split up in custody.
San Diego U.S. District Judge Dan Sabraw made the decision in a lawsuit filed by the ACLU.
The suit contends that the agency splits parents from children without a compelling reason, such as doubts about whether the adult is the actual parent of the child or whether the parent is otherwise legally unfit to have custody.
But the suit misses one major reason for separating children from adults: if the adult is being prosecuted for illegal entry, a combination of legal decisions, agreements and laws require the separation.
As Judge Sabraw is firmly embedded in the jurisdiction of the 9th circuit, this will require the court to review his new decision against its own precedent.
In Flores v. Lynch the court held that minors must be moved to a non-secure, licensed facility as soon as possible. This is usually done within 72-hours, but some legal experts say that due to a court order, they have up to 20 days. The ruling does not require the release of the adult. The requirement forces DHS to move the children to non-secure facilities while holding the adult in a secure detainment facility. Those two things not being the same ultimately requires separation.
The U.S. government, thanks to Congressional inaction, does not have enough space to house all of the immigrant families together that cross the border. Illegal aliens are flooding the U.S. – Mexico line, with kids in tow, at a rate that is overwhelming facilities. Without being able to put kids in safe childcare environments while adults are adjudicated, the system will become overwhelmed. That is exactly the intention of Sabraw’s ruling.
This ruling effectively eliminates the Southern border unless Congress acts to authorize funds for more immigration prosecutors, judges, family detention space and an effective border wall. Without it, DHS will be forced back into catch-and-release which results in 90% of illegal aliens skipping their trials and remaining in the United States illegally.
“This ruling further complicates the already convoluted judicial ruling that makes effective enforcement impossible,” Deputy White House Press Secretary Lindsay Walters said Thursday. “The injunction must be removed immediately or we can’t keep the country safe.”
If Congress will not act to enforce our laws at the border, the best next course of action will be to eliminate the lure. E-verify and more frequent workplace enforcements will make it much more difficult for illegal aliens to gain employment and stay in the United States. Before long, there will be no reason for them to come here except through the legal means.
Anything less means we no longer have a southern border.
editor’s note: this article was updated to add Ms. Walters quote.
Well here is another reaction to this supposed catch-22. When caught with children haul them back across the border and dump them as a complete family. Actually that is the proper thing to do anyway. They cannot possibly be seeking actual asylum because they have come from south of Mexico and asylum seeking is to the FIRST country one enters.