A federal judge tonight blocked the Department of Homeland Security from implementing a new Biden administration policy that would release some migrants into the U.S. without court dates or the ability to track them.
U.S. District Judge T. Kent Wetherell II, who was nominated by former President Donald Trump in 2019, said the restraining order would take effect at 11:59 p.m. ET "to correspond with the expiration of the Title 42 Order and to give Defendants an opportunity to seek an emergency stay from a higher court."
The restraining order will expire within 14 days, Wetherell said, setting a court hearing for May 19.
The ruling from the Florida-based judge comes hours after Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody filed an emergency motion seeking to halt implementation of the policy, which is part of a plan that would release some migrants on “parole” with a notice to report to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement office but without enrolling them in the program.
Get top local stories in DFW delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC DFW's News Headlines newsletter.