A U.S. Court of Appeals is reconsidering a decision made by a federal judge in March 2023. The judge ruled that a migrant policy from the Biden administration broke U.S. immigration law. Known as parole, this policy allows individuals to be released instead of waiting for deportation, applied on a broad basis, rather than at the individual case level. In June 2023, the 11th Circuit court refused to allow the ruling to be withheld, while the Biden administration appeals.

In 2021, Florida disagreed with the Biden administration migrant policy. They said it cost their state more because non-citizen children were going to their public schools. They also said the policy didn’t follow the rules of the federal Administration Procedure Act because there was no public comment period before the ruling was made.

The appeals court seems to be divided over the ruling. One appeals court judge does not think that Florida showed proof that the individuals released used state services and therefore there was no proof that the state was impacted financially. Another judge stated there might be some impact on the state, even if not proven. However, there was little discussion as to whether or not the policy broke U.S. immigration law.

In June 2023, the Supreme Court said states cannot challenge federal immigration law just because of cost. The federal government is using this decision to challenge the appeals court.

As always, we keep track of U.S. immigration policy. If you have questions about any U.S. immigration related issue, please reach out to us. We are here to support you every step of the way.