A federal judge in Florida issued an order on Thursday directing the U.S. Border Patrol not to release any migrants without issuing them formal notices to appear in immigration court.
The order does not affect the expiration of the pandemic-era Title 42 immigration restrictions, Lee Gelernt, the American Civil Liberties Union’s lead attorney in Title 42 litigation, said.
But it could complicate the Border Patrol’s efforts to manage how many migrants cross into the United States.
To expedite processing, the Border Patrol had allowed some people to be released without the being given a formal notice to appear, which can take time to prepare and which in turns can fuel overcrowding in Border Patrol facilities. But after Florida challenged an earlier version, the Biden administration stopped.
After the Border Patrol issued a revised policy this week, Florida once again went to court to try to prevent any releases without notices to appear, leading to the temporary restraining order…
This article was written by Miriam Jordan and Eileen Sullivan and originally published on www.nytimes.com