Fifth Circuit Stays Injunction on Biden’s Immigration Enforcement Priorities

Dave Simpson for Law360 reports that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit backed the bulk of two Biden administration directives narrowing the scope of immigration enforcement operations, staying most of a preliminary injunction entered by the district court.

In a unanimous decision by U.S. Circuit Judge Gregg Costa, the panel found that the U.S. government had shown it would likely succeed in its appeal based.  As the court began the opinion,

“A district court issued a nationwide preliminary injunction preventing the United States from relying on  immigration enforcement priorities outlined in memos from the Department of Homeland Security and 
Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The United States seeks a stay of that injunction pending appeal. For the reasons discussed below, we grant a partial stay.”

“We do not see a strong justification for concluding that the [Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996] detention statutes override the deep-rooted tradition of enforcement discretion when it comes to decisions that occur before detention, such as who should be subject to arrest, detainers, and removal proceedings,” Judge Costa wrote.

 Order attached |