Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody on Thursday sued the Biden administration to stop the implementation of an order to deal with the expected surge of illegal migration when Title 42 expires at midnight Friday, saying it would "release aliens en masse."
"As a result of DHS's mismanagement of the border, over a million illegal aliens have been released into the interior of the United States. Well over 100,000 of those illegal aliens ended up in Florida, and the State has paid millions of dollars to provide public benefits to these aliens. Under the new parole policy announced by DHS tens of thousands more will be released and will likely make their way to Florida," the filing said.
The state requested that the judge make a ruling on the motion for the emergency restraining order before midnight.
"Florida seeks a temporary restraining order to preserve the status quo until the parties can brief motions for a preliminary injunction or to postpone the effective date of the new policy. The Biden Administration's behavior, if left unchecked, makes a mockery of our system of justice and our Constitution," the filing said.
A DHS spokesperson told NBC News: "As Republican and Democratic administrations alike have done in the past to protect the safety and security of Border Patrol agents and migrants in the event of severe overcrowding conditions, U.S. Border Patrol sectors may consider releasing certain migrants who have undergone strict national security and public safety vetting to continue their immigration processes."
The Biden administration requested an extension for a response until 2 p.m. Friday "to allow the government to submit a responsive pleading and appropriate declaration in support of its response."
The judge, though, granted DHS a one-hour extension, meaning a response is required by 5 p.m., arguing that the policy was likely being crafted prior to Wednesday and it "should have been preparing to defend the policy long before it was officially rolled out."