A.G. Gancarski
Florida’s Attorney General is framing a court decision against President Joe Biden‘s border policy as a “win” for Floridians and the rule of law.
During an appearance on Fox & Friends, Ashley Moody celebrated U.S. District Judge T. Kent Wetherell’s ruling that the “catch and release” policy was illegal.
“This is not just a win for Florida. This is a win for our country to have a judge come in and say what we have been saying all along. In fact, calling the White House out when they said there wasn’t a crisis, or nothing was going on. A federal judge has now said, basically, Biden broke the border, his policies, his request for less detention has allowed millions to come in without following federal law,” Moody told host Brian Kilmeade.
“And so again, this is a win for the rule of law, which is the basic tenet on which our government by the people is built.”
A media release Wednesday from Moody’s Office spotlighted the “scathing” Wetherell ruling against a 2021 policy from the Department of Homeland Security that authorized “alternatives to detention,” such as ankle bracelets and other monitoring in lieu of lockdown.
“The Court finds in favor of Florida because, as detailed below, the evidence establishes that Defendants have effectively turned the Southwest Border into a meaningless line in the sand and little more than a speed bump for aliens flooding into the country by prioritizing ‘alternatives to detention’ over actual detention and by releasing more than a million aliens into the country — on ‘parole’ or pursuant to the exercise of ‘prosecutorial discretion’ under a wholly inapplicable statute — without even initiating removal proceedings,” asserted Wetherell, appointed by former President Donald Trump to the Northern District of Florida court.
“One of my favorite lines in this order is when the judge was saying all of the evidence shows Biden’s policies caused this surge, caused millions to come in,” Moody added. “And he said, ‘Look, you asked for less detention, you didn’t follow the law, Biden, and now to blame it on not having the detention is like a child killing its parents and then asking for pity because it’s an orphan.’”
Moody argued the Biden “administration’s intention all along has been to destroy the border and leave our country vulnerable,” noting that the order means the White House “must follow federal law and secure the border.”
“I can’t believe we had to have a state take our President to court to get them to do that,” Moody said, noting that the order is on pause pending an anticipated appeal.
