On Thursday, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall joined a coalition of 18 state attorneys general in sending a letter to President Joseph Biden stating opposition to Biden’s action in the Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) for Certain Palestinians Presidential Memorandum of February 14, 2024.
“Though we are in the midst of a well-recognized immigration crisis caused by President Biden’s disastrous policies, Biden continues to press for even more open borders,” said AG Marshall. “Now he is refusing to remove Palestinians who are in the U.S. illegally, granting them automatic release from the Department of Homeland Security. Even though a large majority of Americans want our border secured and illegal aliens deported, President Biden doesn’t care. He continues to grant illegal amnesties, and he continues to favor the demands of radical activists over the needs of the American people.”
Last November the nation was rocked by a string of anti-American, anti-Israel protests on college campuses.
In response to that crisis, a group of state attorneys general asked the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to vigorously vet foreign student visa holders and remove anyone who has endorsed or espoused terrorist activity or provided material support to foreign terrorists.
Instead of addressing the growing terrorists threat, President Biden ordered DHS to cease removing certain Palestinians who are in the country illegally. The coalition of state attorneys general think this is a mistake and are asking President Biden to reverse this latest mass amnesty.
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Through the Immigration and Nationality Act, Congress has created multiple avenues for the Executive Branch to protect aliens whose lives or freedoms would be threatened if they were to return to their home countries. Congress has charged DHS with enforcing these laws, and the Supreme Court has permitted it to exercise “prosecutorial discretion” in so doing. The attorneys general argue however that DED has no statutory basis.
The letter was led by Arkansas. It was signed by Attorney General Marshall and the attorneys general: Alaska, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and West Virginia.
“You have recognized that since October 7 the world has witnessed the worst atrocities committed against the Jewish people since the Holocaust and a “ferocious surge” of antisemitic activity on American university campuses,” the AGs wrote.
The AGs, “Urge you to reverse the recently announced decision to defer removing certain Palestinians from the United States.”
Steve Marshall was appointed as Attorney General by former Governor Robert Bentley in 2017. He was elected to his own term in 2018 and reelected in 2022. He is term limited from running for AG again in 2026.
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