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Summary

In March 2021, the State of Florida sued the Biden Administration regarding immigration enforcement guidance, issued in January and February 2021, for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to consider when prioritizing cases for enforcement and deportation (e.g. whether an individual is a national security or public safety threat).  Florida claimed that the issuance of the guidance was procedurally improper and that its substance is inconsistent with immigration statutes.

Shortly after filing suit, Florida moved for a preliminary injunction of the guidance (i.e., it requested that the court prohibit ICE from using the challenged guidance while the rest of the case proceeds).  After briefing and oral argument, Judge Edwards Honeywell issued an opinion denying Florida’s motion, on May 18, 2021, ruling that the memoranda are unreviewable. 

Florida subsequently appealed Judge Edwards Honeywell’s decision to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals.  Before the Court of Appeals decided the appeal, however, the Biden Administration issued ICE guidance that superseded the guidance Florida challenged, and Florida thereafter conceded that its appeal and this case were moot.

This case was formally closed in February 2022.

Technical Summary

Florida claimed that the challenged memoranda violated mandatory detention provisions in 8 U.S.C. §§ 1226(c) and 1231(a)(1)(A); the Administrative Procedure Act’s notice and comment requirement and its prohibition on arbitrary and capricious agency action; the Take Care Clause; and the constitutional principle of separation of powers.

The Eleventh Circuit order granting Florida’s motion to dismiss its appeal also granted Florida’s unopposed request that Judge Edwards Honeywell’s May 18, 2021 opinion be vacated.  See United States v. Munsingwear, Inc., 340 U.S. 36 (1950).

 

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