Migrants from Central and South America walk along a dirt road after crossing the Rio Grande River into the United States from Mexico in Rome, Texas, U.S., July 16, 2022. REUTERS/Adrees Latif
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WASHINGTON, July 21 (Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday refused to reinstate President Joe Biden’s policy that shifted the focus of U.S. immigration enforcement toward threats to public safety, giving a victory in Texas and Louisiana as they challenge a plan they consider illegal.
The justices in a 5-4 vote denied the Biden administration’s request to block a federal judge’s ruling that had barred immigration officials from carrying out enforcement guidelines while litigation continues over the legality of the policy. But the court said in a brief order that it would expedite the Biden administration’s appeal and hear oral arguments in December.
Biden’s policy departed from the hard-line approach of Democratic President Donald Trump’s Republican predecessor, who sought to expand the range of immigrants subject to arrest and deportation. Biden took office last year promising a more humane approach to immigration.
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In announcing the new guidelines last September, the Biden administration noted that U.S. officials have long relied on setting enforcement priorities because of the estimated 11 million immigrants living in the country illegally .
The policy would give officers more discretion to consider individual circumstances and prioritize threats to national security or public safety.
Republicans have criticized the Biden administration, saying fewer arrests and deportations have encouraged more illegal border crossings.
Texas and Louisiana sued in federal court in Texas over Biden’s policy, arguing that under federal law officials lack discretion and are required to detain immigrants who commit a wide range of crimes or who have been deported.
U.S. District Judge Drew Tipton on June 10 accepted the nationwide suspension of the policy. Tipton was appointed by Trump. Read more
On July 6, the New Orleans-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit declined to block Tipton’s sentence pending an appeal.
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Reporting by Andrew Chung and Lawrence Hurley; Editing by Leslie Adler and Jonathan Oatis
Our standards: the Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.