ICE agents sue Biden over illegal immigrants: the president allegedly forces them to break the law

A group of sheriffs and current Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers have filed a lawsuit against the administration of US President Joe Biden for its "illegal and unconstitutional" demands for the arrest and deportation of illegal immigrants. Writes about it The Epoch Times.

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Plaintiffs are seeking an injunction against a February 18 memorandum that they say "directs ICE employees to violate federal immigration law."

The lawsuit alleges that “many extremely dangerous illegal aliens who would have been detained prior to the February 18 memorandum are not being detained—contrary to the wishes of ICE officers seeking to detain them and in violation of federal laws requiring their detention.”

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued temporary instructions on February 18 to arrest, detain, and deport illegal immigrants.

DHS instructed ICE staff to focus on only three priority groups of illegal immigrants, including national security threats such as known or suspected terrorists; those who illegally crossed the border after November 1, 2020, and threats to public safety, convicted of serious crimes or gang members.

Part of ICE's job is to track down and deport 672 fugitives who have been ordered to be deported by a federal immigration court but are still in the United States.

On the subject: Biden allows ICE to refuse deportation of certain groups of illegal immigrants

But a new DHS directive says ICE agents must first obtain regulatory approval if they encounter illegal immigrants who are not convicted criminals.

The decision to arrest a person must take into account whether the person may be suffering from a serious physical or mental illness.

“We want ICE to think about ties to the community, whether the person has family here in the United States, family members of U.S. citizens, and other factors,” the official noted.

Following the implementation of the new rules, a DHS spokesman said ICE's arrests should not fall due to the new rules.

However, ICE reported a record low rate of deportation of illegal immigrants (2962 cases in April, up from an average of 8634 per month during fiscal 2020).

According to the lawsuit, ICE employees "rarely received prior authorization to coerce non-priority illegal immigrants."

“Because of the cumbersome nature of the paperwork and the low likelihood of obtaining pre-approval, many ICE officers did not even attempt to obtain pre-approval,” the lawsuit states.

The document describes several cases, presented in affidavits by ICE employees, that were forced to release into the illegal criminal community.

In one case, ICE officers requested permission to arrest a twice deported illegal alien who had been convicted of sex crimes against a child. According to the lawsuit, ICE management rejected the request.

In another case, the local police initiated the arrest of a twice deported illegal for selling heroin.

“The illegal alien, attempting to evade arrest, rammed a police car with his vehicle, almost hitting an officer who was standing near the police car,” the lawsuit notes. — The illegal immigrant was eventually arrested, and a quarter pound (0,11 kg) was found in his possession. Ed.) heroin, and there were a woman and a child in the back seat of the car ”.

ICE officers requested permission to pick up the detainee as soon as he was released from local police custody. According to the lawsuit, ICE management again denied the request.

The third case is related to an illegal arrested by local authorities for the rape of a child. ICE officers sought permission to take the detainee. According to the lawsuit, ICE management again denied the request.

The lawsuit says ICE employees are forced to choose between complying with the February 18 memorandum and federal laws.

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“Plaintiffs fear they will be punished or lose their jobs if they comply with the law,” the document states.

Texas sheriffs joining the lawsuit include Hudspeth County Sheriff Arvin West, Kinney County Sheriff Brad Coe, Edwards County Sheriff J.W. Guthrie and McMullen County Sheriff Emmett Shelton. Other counties are expected to join the claim.

They argue that "they can no longer extradite ICE for the expulsion of illegal immigrants arrested for criminal activity and wait for their expulsion."

“Custody costs, crime response costs, crime investigation costs, and related costs incurred by plaintiffs, sheriffs, and counties have increased dramatically,” the lawsuit states.

“We've seen a dramatic increase in human smuggling since this all started six to eight months ago,” said Sheriff Brad Coe of Kinney County. Kinney County shares 16 miles (25 km) of the international border with Mexico. “As for space in prison, this seriously affects my budget. At one time, I had up to 18 people in a neighboring prison. And they charged me $65 a day per person.”

There are 14 prison places in Kinney County. Coe currently has 18 detainees, six of whom are in a nearby prison. Ten out of 18 are accused of human smuggling.

ICE Acting Director Tae Johnson said the agency's relationship with local communities is "vital to helping us fulfill our important mission."

On the subject: ICE Introduces New Appeal Process for Immigrant Detainees

“Without support, it is very difficult for us to operate effectively and efficiently. So when local jurisdictions don't cooperate, whether it's in terms of not respecting detainees or keeping us out of their facilities, it puts ICE in a situation where we actually have to go out into communities to find people who are our priority,” he said.

A group of sheriffs is suing President Joe Biden, Department of Homeland Security Chief Alejandro Mallorcas, Acting ICE Director Tae Johnson, and Acting Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Troy Miller.

ICE's enforcement and removal departments deported nearly 2020 people in FY186, according to an ICE report, of whom 000% had a criminal record or were pending a review.

The new rules give priority to those who have been convicted of a felony over those who are charged.

The capacity of the ICE detention facility has been reduced from 52 to 000 illegal immigrants.

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