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IRLI, Texas Sheriffs Move to Enjoin Biden Enforcement Ban

July 9, 2021

Motion demands quick return to detention and removal

 

WASHINGTON—Last night, the Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI), representing a group of Texas sheriffs, Texas counties, and a membership organization of immigration-enforcement officers, filed for a preliminary injunction in Texas federal court against the Biden administration policy of prohibiting immigration officers from taking enforcement actions against removable aliens. In this suit, IRLI has teamed up with President Trump confidante and former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, formerly Of Counsel for IRLI.

 

In an agency memo, the administration instructed border enforcement agents not to detain or remove the vast majority of aliens, including dangerous alien criminals, whom the law clearly states must be detained and removed. Not only is this policy contrary to law, the motion shows, but it also was issued without explanation and without notice and a chance for public comment—all defects that require the policy to be struck down.

 

One result of this policy is skyrocketing crime in the plaintiffs' counties, and the resulting need for sheriffs and their counties to expend resources capturing, prosecuting, and incarcerating a rising tide of illegal alien criminals whom federal immigration officers refuse to pick up and deport. Also, the policy contributes greatly to the general collapse of enforcement at the border, which is responsible for the current crisis.

 

The motion also describes this policy in action. For example, aliens convicted of sexual battery on a child, domestic violence, and drunk driving have been released under the policy onto the streets and highways of America.

 

"The Biden enforcement ban we seek to strike down is not only terrible policy, it is flat-out illegal," said Dale L. Wilcox, executive director and general counsel of IRLI. "The administration is bound to follow the law and the Constitution, and cannot just instruct immigration officers to forsake their duty. We hope the court sees the unlawfulness of this non-enforcement memo and enjoins it swiftly."

 

The case is Coe v. Biden, No. 3:21-cv-00168 (S.D. Texas).

                           

Fighting For Freedom

Wednesday, July 7, 2021

By Gary Bauer

 

Former President Donald Trump announced this morning that he is launching a major class action lawsuit against the Big Tech giants – Facebook, Google and Twitter. Trump is seeking a court order demanding "an end to shadow banning, blacklisting, banishing" and other forms of social media censorship, which he denounced as "completely unlawful and un-American."

Here are a few excerpts of the president's remarks:

"Freedom of speech has always been understood as a bedrock of our liberty. . . It is not granted to us by government, but by God, and no one should have the power to take that right away. 

 

"The founding fathers inscribed this right in the very First Amendment to our Constitution because they knew it was essential to the preservation of our Republic. In the words of George Washington, 'If freedom of speech may be taken away, then dumb and silent we may be led like sheep to the slaughter.' 

 

"Unfortunately, today, this fundamental right and liberty is under incredible threat. . .  Social media has given extraordinary power to a group of big tech giants that are working with government, the mainstream media and a large segment of a political party to silence and suppress the views of the American people."

Trump noted how Facebook, YouTube and Twitter banned any discussion of COVID-19 originating from communist China. Well, guess what? Now even the Washington Post editorial board says it's "time to get serious about finding" the truth. Better late than never, I suppose.

Trump warned that there is "no better evidence that Big Tech is out of control" than the fact that "they banned the sitting president of the United States. . . If they can do it to me, they can do it to you and anyone else." 

Underscoring that very point, Trump introduced several people who have also been banned by Big Tech who are joining the president's lawsuit. 

One is a Wisconsin teacher who questioned the need for children to wear masks at all times in school. Another is a Colorado doctor who was banned for posting a video on how churches could safely reopen during the pandemic. Big Tech also banned two black "Angel parents," whose son was killed by an illegal alien. Their advocacy for commonsense immigration laws got them kicked off Twitter.

President Trump vowed to carry this battle beyond the courts to state legislatures and the ballot box. 

Anti-Borders Groups Targeting ICE Private Detention Facilities

July 2, 2021

IRLI shows why activists' suit should be dismissed

 

WASHINGTON—On Wednesday, the Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI) filed a friend-of-the-court brief in a case in which activist attorneys seek to cripple the ability of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to house and transfer custody of aliens subject to removal in a flexible way responsive to the agency's changing needs.

 

For decades, ICE has contracted with private companies to house detained aliens, rather than build and run its own facilities. The system allows ICE to place aliens where it is most convenient and efficient to do so. In an attack on that system, some aliens and their anti-borders attorneys have brought suit in a California federal district court, demanding an injunction against this longstanding practice.

 

In its brief urging dismissal of the lawsuit, IRLI shows that such an injunction would have no basis in the law: ICE, like every other federal agency, has full authority to enter into contracts with private entities to assist it in performing its mission, and the plaintiffs were unable to come up with any case or law to the contrary.

 

"This case is yet another attack by anti-borders activists on private detention, which plays a vital role in immigration enforcement," said Dale L. Wilcox, executive director and general counsel of IRLI. "Their aim here is the same as in previous cases: to cripple enforcement by crashing the system. We hope the court sees this misuse of the judicial system for what it is—and also the baselessness of the plaintiffs' claims—and dismisses the case."

 

The case is Solano v. ICE, No. 2:21-cv-01576 (C.D. Cal.).

"What The Fourth Of July Means To Me"

July 2, 2021

By Gary Bauer

As many of you know, I had the honor of serving all eight years in the Reagan Administration, as Under Secretary of Education and as the president's Chief Domestic Policy Adviser in the White House. Ronald Reagan was all about putting America first, and he helped to restore our nation's pride after years of strife, scandal and malaise. 

 

In his first year as president, Reagan wrote an essay entitled "What the Fourth of July Means To Me." As we prepare to celebrate the 245th anniversary of our Declaration of Independence, I'd like to share some excerpts of Reagan's thoughts about American patriotism.

 

"For one who was born and grew up in the small towns of the Midwest, there is a special kind of nostalgia about the Fourth of July. I remember it as a day almost as long-anticipated as Christmas. . .

 

"Somewhere in our growing up we began to be aware of the meaning of days and with that awareness came the birth of patriotism. July Fourth is the birthday of our nation. I believed as a boy, and believe even more today, that it is the birthday of the greatest nation on earth. . .

 

"What manner of men were [gathered in Philadelphia in July 1776]? Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists, 11 were merchants and tradesmen, and nine were farmers. They were soft-spoken men of means and education; they were not an unwashed rabble. They had achieved security but valued freedom more. Their stories have not been told nearly enough.

 

"John Hart was driven from the side of his desperately ill wife. For more than a year he lived in the forest and in caves before he returned to find his wife dead, his children vanished, his property destroyed. He died of exhaustion and a broken heart.

 

"Carter Braxton of Virginia lost all his ships, sold his home to pay his debts, and died in rags. . . [Thomas] Nelson personally urged Washington to fire on his home and destroy it when it became the headquarters for General Cornwallis. Nelson died bankrupt.

 

"But they sired a nation that grew from sea to shining sea. . . In recent years, however, I've come to think of that day as more than just the birthday of a nation. It also commemorates the only true philosophical revolution in all history.

 

"Oh, there have been revolutions before and since ours. But those revolutions simply exchanged one set of rules for another. Ours was a revolution that changed the very concept of government.

 

"Let the Fourth of July always be a reminder that here in this land, for the first time, it was decided that man is born with certain God-given rights; that government is only a convenience created and managed by the people, with no powers of its own except those voluntarily granted to it by the people. We sometimes forget that great truth, and we never should."

 

By all means, enjoy this Fourth of July. Celebrate our independence with friends and family. But please take a moment to remind your children and grandchildren about America's exceptionalism and the significance of Independence Day.

 

Remind them about the sacrifices at Bunker Hill and Concord Bridge that were necessary to create this nation and secure our freedoms. Tell them about the courage of George Washington crossing the Delaware River on Christmas night.

 

Most importantly, tell them about America's "mission statement." It can be found in the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence:

 

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. . . "

 

Let us rededicate ourselves to the vision of our Founding Fathers -- of ordered liberty under God -- so that freedom and prosperity may be preserved for our children and future generations to come.

 

God bless you, my friends, and may God bless the United States of America!

IRLI, Texas Sheriffs Take On,,Biden’s Illegal Alien Release Policies

July 1, 2021 

Lawsuit demands return to detention and removal

 

WASHINGTON—Today the Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI), representing a group of Texas sheriffs, Texas counties, and a membership organization of immigration-enforcement officers, filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas seeking an injunction against two Biden administration policies that add up to a blanket policy of catching and releasing illegal aliens as they flood across the border. In this suit, IRLI has teamed up with President Trump confidante and former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, formerly Of Counsel for IRLI.

 

The first policy the plaintiffs challenge is Biden's stated non-enforcement priorities. In an agency memo, the administration instructed border enforcement agents not to detain or remove the vast majority of aliens, including dangerous alien criminals, whom the law clearly states must be detained and removed. Not only is this policy contrary to law, it also was issued without explanation and without notice and a chance for public comment—all defects that require the policy to be struck down.

 

One category of aliens the memo does state are a priority for detention and removal are those who first entered the country illegally after November 1, 2020. But, IRLI claims, these recently-arrived aliens, too, are being released into the country under another policy, in which agents have been told they no longer are to take the enforcement actions mandated by law and instead must release arriving aliens into the United States. Needless to say, this second policy is even more unlawful than the first.

 

One result of these policies is skyrocketing crime in the plaintiffs' counties, and the resulting need for sheriffs and their counties to expend resources capturing, prosecuting, and incarcerating a rising tide of illegal alien criminals whom federal immigration officers refuse to pick up and deport. Also, the policies contribute greatly to the general collapse of enforcement at the border, which is responsible for the current crisis.

 

The lawsuit filed today also describes these policies in action. For example, aliens convicted of sexual battery on a child, domestic violence, and drunk driving have been released under the policies onto the streets and highways of America.

 

"The Biden policies we challenge here are as lawless as lawless can be," said Dale L. Wilcox, executive director and general counsel of IRLI. "We applaud the plaintiffs for standing up and fighting for their counties against this influx of illegal aliens and crime. If Biden's border stand-down is to be reversed, it must be in the courts, and we remain dedicated to doing all we can to bring the administration to justice and protect America."

 

The case is Coe v. Biden, No. 3:21-cv-00168 (S.D. Texas).

Senator Bryce Reeves Endorses Russell for Mayor

CULPEPER, VA.- 17^th District State Senator Bryce Reeves who represents the town of Culpeper announced his endorsement of Jon Russell for Culpeper Mayor.

"I fully support Jon Russell for Mayor of Culpeper. We have worked together on behalf of many of our constituents to solve problems in the community. He has been a steady hand to help small businesses and families navigate through state and local government regulations. He puts Culpeper residents first and foremost", said Senator Reeves.

Jon Russell said, "It is an honor to have worked with Senator Reeves over the last seven years. He has been a good friend to Culpeper. When I needed him to help with a citizen issue, he has always been eager to help. His work on veterans, responsible budgeting and law enforcement issues has benefited every Culpeper resident." Jon Russell is a two-term Culpeper Councilman, small business owner, married with four children. Russell announced his candidacy for Mayor in January of this year. Russell has also received the endorsement of Virginia Delegate Michael Webert.

Tom Homan Joins Trump on Texas Border Tour

 June 30, 2021

 

Former president consults IRLI senior fellow on Biden's immigration crisis WASHINGTON—When former President Donald Trump visited the United States southern border in Texas today, he was accompanied by a number of immigration enforcement experts. Among them was Tom Homan, former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and currently senior fellow at the Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI). They got a firsthand look at the Biden administration's immigration enforcement collapse that has caused catastrophic damage to Texas and other border states. The former president and his entourage had a roundtable discussion with Texas sheriffs to discuss how border security has degraded since the Biden administration began. "The border has never been this way," Trump said. "It went from the best border we've ever had in the history of our country … the best ever by far. We built almost 500 miles of wall despite two-and-a-half years of lawsuits, litigation … and we won the suits and we started. " The former president requested that Homan, a veteran of more than 30 years in immigration enforcement, join him on the trip at the invitation of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. They were also joined by members of the House Republican Study Committee that has called attention to the crisis at the border. "Tom Homan has been unbelievable," said Trump. "Nobody knows it like Tom." This is the latest of several trips Homan has made to the border this year, bringing awareness to the costs the Biden immigration policies have incurred in terms of lost lives, human suffering, national security and the spread of infectious diseases as the nation still struggles with the coronavirus pandemic. Homan's participation in the border tour is just the latest example of how IRLI is pushing back against the destructive immigration policies of this administration. Among its many other legal activities and victories, IRLI is currently serving as outside co-counsel to the State of Texas in its lawsuit against the Biden administration and several federal agencies over the influx of illegal aliens infected with COVID-19 into Texas and the United States by this administration. "Thanks largely to a highly partisan, agenda-driven media, most of America has not been told the true damage being inflicted on our country by this administration's reckless immigration policies," said Dale L. Wilcox, executive director and general counsel of IRLI. "Residents of Texas and other border states are living with these consequences every day. IRLI will not relent in our efforts to challenge these policies and bring about an immigration strategy that actually serves the interests of the American people."

Tom Homan Joins Trump on Texas Border Tour

 June 30, 2021

 

Former president consults IRLI senior fellow on Biden's immigration crisis WASHINGTON—When former President Donald Trump visited the United States southern border in Texas today, he was accompanied by a number of immigration enforcement experts. Among them was Tom Homan, former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and currently senior fellow at the Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI). They got a firsthand look at the Biden administration's immigration enforcement collapse that has caused catastrophic damage to Texas and other border states. The former president and his entourage had a roundtable discussion with Texas sheriffs to discuss how border security has degraded since the Biden administration began. "The border has never been this way," Trump said. "It went from the best border we've ever had in the history of our country … the best ever by far. We built almost 500 miles of wall despite two-and-a-half years of lawsuits, litigation … and we won the suits and we started. " The former president requested that Homan, a veteran of more than 30 years in immigration enforcement, join him on the trip at the invitation of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. They were also joined by members of the House Republican Study Committee that has called attention to the crisis at the border. "Tom Homan has been unbelievable," said Trump. "Nobody knows it like Tom." This is the latest of several trips Homan has made to the border this year, bringing awareness to the costs the Biden immigration policies have incurred in terms of lost lives, human suffering, national security and the spread of infectious diseases as the nation still struggles with the coronavirus pandemic. Homan's participation in the border tour is just the latest example of how IRLI is pushing back against the destructive immigration policies of this administration. Among its many other legal activities and victories, IRLI is currently serving as outside co-counsel to the State of Texas in its lawsuit against the Biden administration and several federal agencies over the influx of illegal aliens infected with COVID-19 into Texas and the United States by this administration. "Thanks largely to a highly partisan, agenda-driven media, most of America has not been told the true damage being inflicted on our country by this administration's reckless immigration policies," said Dale L. Wilcox, executive director and general counsel of IRLI. "Residents of Texas and other border states are living with these consequences every day. IRLI will not relent in our efforts to challenge these policies and bring about an immigration strategy that actually serves the interests of the American people."

Victory! Supreme Court Upholds Finality of Removal Orders

June 29, 2021

Agreeing with IRLI, Court maintains clarity in immigration law

 

WASHINGTON—Today the U.S. Supreme Court reached a decision clarifying the meaning of key terms in immigration law—terms that affect whether detained aliens may be let out into the United States on bail—and in so doing refused to weaken the finality of final orders of removal. The Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI) had filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the case urging the result the Court reached.

 

Immigration law states that if an alien is issued a final order of removal from the country, the alien may be eligible for "withholding of removal." Under one view of the law urged before the Court, if an alien applies for withholding of removal, his final order of removal is not final until his application for withholding of removal is decided. Under another view, his final order of removal remains final even while his application for withholding is pending. If the first view is correct, the alien is eligible for getting out of detention on bail. If the second view is correct, the alien is not so eligible.

 

In its brief, IRLI showed why the second view is correct. Withholding of removal, even if granted, only means that an alien may not be deported to a particular country where he faces a likelihood of torture. Such an alien may still be deported to some other country—and that can only be true if his final order of removal is, indeed, final. Today, the Supreme Court agreed, finding that the withholding of removal proceeding is about whether an alien may or may not be removed to a specific country, not whether he is to be removed from the United States, and thus his attempt to gain withholding of removal does not change the finality of his removal order.

 

"Words have meaning, and in immigration law, their meaning often is carefully calibrated," said Dale L. Wilcox, executive director and general counsel of IRLI. "The purpose of the humanitarian provision of withholding of removal was not to make the status of an alien who has been issued a final order of removal murky by casting the finality of his removal order into doubt. Applying for withholding of removal is not an appeal from a final order of removal, but a separate immigration benefit having to do with a single country. We are pleased that the Supreme Court recognized this, and resolved this case in the direction of clarity and certainty in our immigration system."

 

The case is Johnson v. Guzman Chavez, No. 19-897 (Supreme Court).

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Another Big Problem

Thursday, June 24, 2021

By Gary Bauer

I want to touch on something else. Policy disagreements aside, there is something cognitively wrong with the president. His speech was slurred yesterday. He couldn't follow the teleprompter. He told the same joke twice, and at times seemed incapable of articulating complete sentences and thoughts. 

Here's just one example. Yesterday, Biden attempted and failed to paraphrase Thomas Jefferson in order to mock supporters of the Second Amendment. Eventually, Biden said, "If you think you need to have weapons to take on the government, you need F-15s and maybe some nuclear weapons." WHAT?!

This president has been telling us for months that unarmed demonstrators who entered the Capitol Building amounted to an "insurrection" and "the worst attack since the Civil War." Now he's suggesting that people need nuclear weapons to threaten the government. Well, if that's the case, the "insurrection" clearly wasn't such a threat.

America is facing huge challenges at home and abroad, and there are growing concerns about the president's health.  Obviously, I'm not a fan of Joe Biden. But I don't take any pleasure in watching his health and mental capabilities fail. 

If Donald Trump gave a rambling speech like that, there would be deafening calls for the Cabinet to invoke the 25^th Amendment to remove him.

Biden's Crime Problem

By Gary Bauer

After months of silence, President Biden will deliver a major speech tomorrow on the growing crime wave sweeping the country. It's obvious why Biden is finally addressing this topic. Polling shows that the overwhelming majority of Americans feel less safe and are increasingly alarmed at rising crime in their communities.

But I have zero expectation that Biden will actually do anything to address rising crime rates and growing disrespect for the police. He can't do anything about those issues because he and the left are deeply implicated in the breakdown of law and order.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki made it clear that Biden will blame it on "gun violence," as if guns discharge by themselves. Some big city mayors say lifting COVID restrictions is responsible for the rise in crime. In other words, if no one is allowed to leave their homes, crime drops.

I wonder if the president realizes that there has been a 40% increase in the number of police officers deliberately murdered in the first six months of this year. Another police officer was murdered in the line of duty in Colorado yesterday. 

Radical leftists and their liberal media allies have fed our country a steady diet of anti-police rhetoric. Morale among law enforcement officers is in the tank. Retirements are up and recruiting is down. Words matter. Policies matter.

There's another reason why Biden and the left have no credibility on lawlessness. He is personally responsible for the lawlessness taking place every day on our southern border. 

The border is increasingly controlled by international drug cartels, gangs like MS-13, human traffickers and illegal immigrants who are pouring into our country by the hundreds of thousands every month because Joe Biden refuses to enforce the law and secure our border. 

Biden's open border policies are guaranteeing that more crime is coming to your city and state. Catch and release which is fine in fishing, but terrible when it comes to border security and the security of our communities. 

So, Joe Biden will make his speech, crafted for him by the wordsmiths at the White House. But nothing he says or does will have any impact on the crime ravaging your neighborhood, your schools and your city streets.

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