Brnovich seeks to rescind 100-day deportation pause
Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich is asking the federal government to rescind a 100day moratorium on most deportations that was announced on President Joe Biden’s first day in office.
In a letter sent Tuesday to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Brnovich claimed the moratorium violated the Sanctuary for Americans First Enactment, or SAFE, Agreement that the department signed with Arizona and other states during the final weeks of former President Donald Trump’s administration.
The agreement, which went into effect Jan. 8, requires the Homeland Security Department to “provide 180 days’ written notice, consider (the Arizona Attorney General’s Office’s) input, and provide a detailed written explanation of the reasoning” behind any changes to immigration policy, according to the letter.
U.S. District Judge Drew Tipton earlier Tuesday issued a temporary restraining order that blocked the Biden administration from enforcing the 100-day pause of certain deportations for two weeks after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued DHS claiming, in part, that the moratorium also violated the SAFE Agreement the department also signed with his state.
Brnovich said Tuesday’s letter was intended to serve as notice to Homeland Security that they had violated the agreement with Arizona for not consulting with the state before announcing the moratorium or giving them the 180-notice.
“We ask you to immediately rescind the memorandum as it applies to ‘pausing’ the removal of aliens charged or convicted of crimes in Arizona,” Brnovich, a Republican, wrote in the letter.
“We further request that, consistent with the recent order entered by Judge Tipton, you provide (the Arizona Attorney General’s Office) with data of ‘the number of individuals in custody that were subject to an Order of Removal who have been released from custody in the United States since Friday January 22, 2021 and the locations from which they were released,’” the letter added.
The Arizona Attorney General’s Office has left open the possibility of whether it would consider filing an amicus brief in support of Paxton’s lawsuit, if the option was made available to them, or file their own lawsuit against the department in Arizona, which falls under the more liberalleaning 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
The Department of Homeland Security referred a request for comment to the White House, which expressed confidence that the moratorium would stand in court.
“It will be clear that this measure was wholly appropriate in ordering a temporary pause to allow the agency to carefully review its policies, procedures, and enforcement priorities — while allowing for a greater focus on threats to public safety and national security,” the White House said in a written statement.
Acting Homeland Security Secretary David Pekoski issued the Jan. 20 memorandum on mandating a 100-day pause of most deportations in order to give the department time to review its enforcement policies and practices. It also established new, more restrictive priorities for deportation.
The moratorium on deportations could have impacted as many as 25,000 immigrants with a final order of removal during the 100-day period, according to the Migration Policy Institute.
Guidelines outlined in the memo instructed U.S. immigration officials to continue deportation proceedings for terrorist and terrorist suspects, any person who arrived to the U.S. illegally before Nov. 1, and individuals convicted of aggravated felonies.
In his letter to DHS, Brnovich said the pause of deportations could lead to overcrowding at Arizona’s immigration detention facilities, and possibly to the forced release of “dangerous offenders” detained at those facilities.
“Additionally, it has come to our attention that people charged with or convicted of felonies have been released without coordination with the appropriate court or probation department. I am sure you can see how this is a serious and valid concern,” he said.
Advocacy groups who supported the moratorium on deportations criticized Tipton’s temporary restraining order that is pausing its implementation for 14 days.
“The voters rejected the Trump administration’s disastrous immigration policies, but Texas is now seeking to keep the Biden administration from turning the page.
This initial, tentative, and hasty decision is incorrect, and we are confident it will be set aside as the case proceeds,” said Cody Wofsy, a staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union’s Immigrants’ Rights Project.
In addition to Arizona and Texas, the Department of Homeland Security under Trump also signed SAFE agreements with Indiana, Louisiana and the Rockingham County Sheriff’s Office in North Carolina, according to Buzzfeed News.
Brnovich attached the copy of Arizona’s agreement with the letter he sent to DHS on Tuesday. The document showed that Brnovich signed it on Dec. 29.
Ken Cuccinelli, in his capacity as the senior official performing the duU.S. ties of the deputy Homeland Security secretary, signed the agreement Jan. 8 on behalf of the department and its three constituent agencies that handle immigration duties: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Have any news tips or story ideas about the U.S.Mexico border? Reach the reporter at rafael.carranza@arizonarepublic.com, or follow him on Twitter at @RafaelCarranza.