Florida, other states sue over immigration enforcement

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody addresses the media and supports on the State filing a lawsuit to block the Biden administration over vaccine mandates Thursday, Oct. 28, 2021 in Lakeland Fla. The state of Florida on Thursday sued President Joe Biden’s administration over its coronavirus vaccine mandate for federal contractors, opening yet another battleground between Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and the White House. The lawsuit, announced by DeSantis at a news conference, alleges the president doesn’t have the authority to issue the rule and that it violates procurement law. (Calvin Knight/The Ledger via AP)

Florida, Alabama and Georgia filed a federal lawsuit Monday alleging that the Biden administration is not properly deporting undocumented immigrants who commit crimes.

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall and Georgia Attorney General Christopher Carr filed the 24-page lawsuit in the federal Northern District of Alabama.

It alleges that the Biden administration has violated a law known as the Administrative Procedure Act by not properly deporting criminals.

“It (the Biden administration) claims the discretion to decide for itself which aliens should be arrested, detained and removed, even if its policy preferences directly conflict with the clear commands of Congress,” the lawsuit said.

“And it has used that claimed discretion to allow illegal immigrants guilty of drug trafficking, burglary and other serious crimes to return to our communities upon release from state custody rather than arresting and removing them as federal law requires.”

Moody also has filed other lawsuits about Biden administration immigration policies, including a case that is pending in federal court in Pensacola. In December, Moody’s office dropped an appeal in another case, saying it was moot because of changes in policies.