Washington, D.C. — Earlier, today, Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a decision in Matter of Cruz-Valdez, the practical effect of which will be to allow illegal aliens to have their cases “administratively closed,” rather than decided on the merits.
Instead of issuing a removal order or granting relief from removal, the Biden Administration is telling immigration judges that they can put their cases on “hold,” permitting illegal immigrants to remain in the United States indefinitely. This practice previously led to disastrous results under the Obama Administration: decreasing productivity and eliminating finality to cases. The Trump Administration curtailed the practice and restored order to the immigration courts. And now what is old is new again, as the Biden Administration makes yet another strike against the integrity of our immigration system.
AFL Vice-President and General Counsel Gene Hamilton issued the following statement:
“Not content with opening the floodgates for illegal immigration through ending nearly every successful policy that secured the border under the Trump Administration, the Attorney General today issued a decision that further undermines the integrity of the immigration courts,” Gene Hamilton said. “The open-borders advocates know that the Attorney General’s decision means that any non-detained aliens who violated our immigration laws and who were placed into immigration court proceedings will likely be permitted to remain in the United States indefinitely. For any rational individual who adheres to the truth and believes in the rule of law, there is no denying that—taken together with the Biden Administration’s other blatant open border policies—today’s decision from the AG is all part of a bigger plan to eliminate the enforcement of our immigration laws for the overwhelming majority of illegal aliens. While it may not be as obviously disastrous as actually abolishing ICE, today’s decision will help advocates achieve many of the same results.”
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