A coalition of 26 state attorneys general is calling on the new U.S. Speaker of the House to pass a Florida-sponsored bill that would grant states the authority to enforce federal immigration law when the federal government refuses to do so.
The AGs, led by Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, sent a letter to Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, on Monday. In it, they called on Congress to pass U.S. Rep. Bill Posey’s bill, the Immigration Enforcement Partnership Act. Posey, R-Florida, first filed the measure in 2022 and again in March 2023.
“On day one, [President Joe] Biden began intentionally dismantling our public safety immigration structure,” Moody said. The president and U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas “have outright ignored federal law, and we have uncovered numerous ‘secret plans’ to allow for the mass release of unvetted and inadmissible migrants,” she said, referring to Florida’s border-related lawsuits against the administration.
The administration’s parole and mass release policies are “not only in direct conflict with federal law, but it has also put Americans’ safety in jeopardy,” Moody said. Despite Florida’s repeated wins in court, Moody said, “more needs to be done. I like to believe we at least slowed the invasion to some degree. However, it is becoming clear that the judicial system is not an adequate battlefield to quickly address the urgent crisis Biden has created.”
