Hours before pandemic-related asylum restrictions were set to be lifted, Florida's attorney general has filed a lawsuit against the Biden Administration over a new immigration policy.
The restrictions, known as Title 42, are set to end at midnight. The outgoing rules have allowed border officials since March 2020 to quickly return asylum seekers back over the border on grounds of preventing the spread of COVID-19.
The Associated Press reported that Border Patrol agents were told Wednesday to begin releasing some migrants with instructions to appear at a U.S. immigration office within 60 days, according to a U.S. official. The official was not authorized to speak publicly about the matter and provided information to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
Agents were also told to start the releases in any area where holding facilities were at 125% capacity or the average time in custody exceeded 60 hours. They were also instructed to start releases if 7,000 migrants were taken into custody across the entire border in one day.
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The Border Patrol stopped about 10,000 migrants on Tuesday, one of its busiest days ever, according to a second U.S. official who provided information to the AP on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.
The lawsuit filed Thursday by Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody seeks to have the Biden administration explain to a federal judge why the new immigration policy does not violate a court order obtained by Moody earlier this year.
In the ruling, U.S. District Court Judge T. Kent Wetherell held that Biden’s federal immigration policies are illegal and must change.
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Moody's suit includes a motion for a temporary restraining order and requests a ruling before midnight Thursday.
