On the heels of a scathing Florida Statewide Grand Jury Report, Attorney General Ashley Moody headed to Washington, D.C. to meet with congressional leaders to advance legislation that would let states enforce federal immigration laws. Attorney General Moody met with House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio, Congressman Carlos Gimenez of Florida, Congresswoman Laurel Lee of Florida, and Congressman Chip Roy of Texas to deliver copies of the Statewide Grand Jury Report and copies of H.R. 1337, the Immigration Enforcement Partnership Act.
Attorney General Ashley Moody said, “Despite the Biden administration’s countless claims that the border is secure, our immigration litigation, multiple congressional hearings, this damning grand jury report, and frankly our own eyes, show that is not true. The border is wide-open, and this derelict president refuses to fix it. I traveled to D.C. to meet with congressional leaders and let them know; because Biden is unwilling to fix the border and prioritize national security, the states should be able to step in to protect their citizens.”
Rep. Jordan is the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, the committee of jurisdiction on H.R. 1337. Rep. Roy also serves on the House Judiciary Committee. Rep. Gimenez serves on the Homeland Security Committee which provides oversight over the Department of Homeland Security and focuses on legislation related to the security of the United States. Rep. Lee serves on both the House Judiciary and Homeland Security committees. Attorney General Moody hand delivered copies of the report and legislation to each member today and met to discuss future action.
Last week, Attorney General Moody announced the release of the Fifth Presentment of the Twenty-First Statewide Grand Jury. The report continues to show how Biden’s immigration policies are causing the historic surge of individuals at the U.S. Southwest border. According to the Statewide Grand Jury’s findings, during fiscal year 2022, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol encountered more than 3 million aliens and denied entry to only a third of them. This number is roughly equivalent to the number of children born in America during the same period of time. Of the 3 million migrants, CBP refused entry to around 1 million and released more than 900,000 individuals to await court hearings.
The report indicates 700,000 entered the country illegally but got away from law enforcement, 140,000 are unaccompanied alien children released into the interior and more than 400,000 arrived by being flown directly or transported across the border via use of the CBP One app or other parole programs. The presentment also outlines how cartels are profiting from the app.
The report states: "We also received testimony regarding the cartel’s ability to “hack” the CBP-One application by using a Virtual Private Network. At one point, the Mexican government would turn away people attempting to enter the country, unless they had a CBP One appointment. Cartels would penetrate the app and use a VPN to allow users anywhere to "schedule their appointment, a/k/a their "transit visa through Mexico.” According to the Grand Jury’s presentment, close to 1 million individuals currently residing in Florida are here in the country illegally.
Last month, Attorney General Moody led a 26-state coalition of attorneys general pushing U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson to take up the Immigration Enforcement Partnership Act of 2023, or H.R.1337. The Immigration Enforcement Partnership Act “authorizes a state attorney general to request in writing that the Department of Homeland Security adequately fulfill certain duties related to immigration enforcement. Within 30 days of receiving such a request, DHS must ensure that such duties are adequately fulfilled by DHS officers and employees or authorize that state’s officials to fulfill such duties. The state attorney general may sue DHS for failure to meet this bill’s requirements.”
In the letter to Speaker Johnson, Attorney General Moody points out that Florida took the Biden administration to court—and won on numerous occasions—but in the end, more needs to be done.
Attorney General Moody writes: “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.”
Attorney General Moody worked with Florida Congressman Bill Posey to craft this legislation twice now, yet the bill has yet to receive a hearing.
The letter states: “Had Congress acted sooner, the U.S. might not be setting yet another record for CBP encounters at the border. We will never know, but if we take action now to give states the authority to do the job Biden and Mayorkas refuse to do, we could prevent another record next year.”
Original source can be found here.