NBC News reported on Wednesday that the Biden administration had directed Border Patrol agents to start "releasing migrants into the U.S. without court dates or the ability to track them." However, a federal judge threw a wrench into those plans. 

Biden administration scrambling with end of Title 42

According to Fox News, Judge T. Kent Wetherell II has placed a two-week hold on the administration's plan to use what's known as "parole with conditions."

Fox News noted that "parole with conditions" is typically reserved for "urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit."

However, a memo was released which said it could be used if Customs and Border Protection (CBP) faces overcrowding.

That scenario appears all but certain to happen with the end of Title 42, a Trump-era COVID policy which allowed illegal immigrants to be quickly deported.

Policy challenged by Florida attorney general

"For the past 7 days, USBP has averaged over 8,750 encounters per day. This is over double the average daily encounters of 4,284 in May of 2019, the highest month of the 2019 surge," Fox News quoted the memo as saying.

"Even with significant personnel along the SWB, a significant detention capacity, and interagency resources supporting the effort, this situation requires urgent action," it continued.

The memo added that Border Patrol agents are to instruct illegal migrants that they must either make an appointment with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or request a notice to appear in court by mail.

Wetherell's ruling came as a result of a lawsuit filed by Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody which challenged the use of "parole with conditions."

"The Biden administration did absolutely nothing to prepare for that crisis. Then, just yesterday, it issued the Parole with Conditions mass release policy, which is virtually identical to the policy a federal judge already invalidated," Moody said in a statement.

Judge points to Biden's own words

"These actions demonstrate a striking combination of incompetence and bad faith. I am pleased that a federal court understood the situation and acted appropriately," she stressed.

While the Department of Homeland Security argued that preventing it from using "parole without conditions" would lead to unsustainable overcrowding at its facilities, Wetherell said such "rhetoric rings hollow."

What's more, he pointed to a recent admission by President Joe Biden that the border has been in a state of "chaos" for some time.

Q: "Can you expand on what you meant when you said there's going to be chaos at the border?"

BIDEN: "Say that again?"

Q: "Can you expand on what you meant when you said there'd be chaos at the border?"

BIDEN: "We've had chaos at the border for a number of years" pic.twitter.com/TBqJFPCmcs

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) May 10, 2023