PHOENIX, AZ – Arizona has joined a coalition of states suing to stop the implementation of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) ‘Guidelines for the Enforcement of Civil Immigration Law’ (Permanent Guidance). The attorneys general call the immigration policy that halts nearly all deportations dangerous.
The law prevents deportations even for those convicted of crimes, and according to the coalition, “drastically ties the hands of immigration officers.
The coalition, made up of the attorneys generals from Arizona, Ohio, and Montana, is asking the U.S. District Court of Ohio to declare the Permanent Guidance illegal and to stop it from going into effect.
“The Biden Administration continues to pursue its reckless open border policies, with a shocking disregard for the law and the safety of American families,” said Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich. “Its latest administrative guidance would essentially abolish ICE, even as escalating crime and atrocities are moving through our border and into communities across the country. Together with Ohio and Montana, Arizona has filed suit to challenge and reverse this deeply misguided policy that would further devastate our country.”
In their lawsuit, the coalition shows that the Permanent Guidance is in direct violation of federal law (8 U.S.C. § 1231), which requires U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to remove an alien who has received a final deportation order within 90 days. Under DHS’s nonenforcement policy, ICE will no longer categorically remove migrants with final removal orders within 90 days, if ever, even if they have dangerous convictions unless they are suspected of terrorism. There are more than 1 million individuals with final removal orders currently in the U.S.
The coalition also argues the Permanent Guidance doesn’t make sense because DHS failed to consider the serious problems the policy will cause. For example, the Permanent Guidance does not even consider the serious risk of recidivism among criminal migrants who are released into Arizona’s communities. Additionally, the Permanent Guidance does not take into account the costs to the states, which will have to spend precious taxpayer dollars on increased costs for law enforcement and social services.
Under the Permanent Guidance, ICE will no longer transfer most deportable migrants from local prisons to ICE custody when they are set to be released from jail, even though it is required by law (8 U.S.C. § 1226). Instead, migrants will be released into communities in Arizona and at the cost of taxpayers through community supervision. When DHS implemented a similar policy earlier this year, called the Interim Guidance, not only were immigration arrests and deportations slashed, but removable criminal migrants were also released from jails. Some of the convictions included arson, armed robbery, misconduct involving weapons, and aggravated DUI.
The coalition argues that the Biden administration’s Permanent Guidance will further incentivize illegal immigration and worsen the border crisis, including the crisis of dangerous fentanyl flowing across the border. More than 1.7 million migrants were encountered along the southwest border in fiscal year 2021, the highest total ever recorded. Sadly that trend is continuing. Just last month, U.S. Border Patrol encountered more than 164,000 migrants at the southwest border. Dangerous and deadly drugs are pouring into the country at rates never seen before, and they are making their way into communities across the country day by day.