U.S. courts stacked with Republican-appointed judges vs ‘lame duck’ Biden

Across the country and the world, many are still shell-shocked by the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling that has overturned Roe v Wade and now placed a very personal and often painful decision over whether it’s the right time to have a child or not, in the hands of mostly old white men in state houses who know nothing of periods or pregnancy.

Yes, I know this is the Immigration Korner but I promise it is relevant, especially as it relates to the Biden presidency. The reality is that given the reversal by the Republican-stacked Supreme Court justices, poor, immigrant women are the ones who will be hardest hit by this decision. I can write 500 words easy on the many ways how, as I shudder at the stories heard of back door abortions. But again, I digress.

While the Roe v. Wade ruling has taken the headlines, another court ruling, this time by a Republican-appointed federal judge in Texas, got lost in the fray and proves that more and more, President Joe Biden is beginning to look like a ‘lame duck’ already in the presidency.

The ruling, which also occurred on Friday, June 24, relates to the arrest of undocumented immigrants and their subsequent deportation. The Joe Biden administration had moved late last year to prioritize the arrest of undocumented immigrants who are considered a threat to public safety and national security, instead of widespread arrest of any undocumented immigrant as was the case under the Trump administration.

In a policy memo to immigration agents last year, the Homeland Security secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, had directed agents not only to prioritize immigrants involved in crimes and security threats, but to take into consideration other factors in deciding whether to apprehend them—such as whether they had lived in the United States for many years, were of advanced age or had U.S.-born children.
However, on the afternoon of June 24—hours after the shocking SCOTUS ruling and as protests broke out across the country, a ruling by Judge Drew B. Tipton, a Trump appointee, based on a lawsuit filed by Texas and Louisiana, concluded that the Homeland Security secretary’s decision to adopt priorities was “arbitrary and capricious.”

He ruled that federal law required a series of procedures before such a policy change, including a public comment period. The ruling forced the DHS to suspend as of Saturday, June 25, 2022, their order, which now has left millions of undocumented people vulnerable to deportation.

Between the SCOTUS ruling and the Texas ruling, it is extremely obvious why the Republicans and Trumpeto were so focused on stacking the courts all across the country, including the highest in the land.

While Democrats have been given power in the Executive branch as well as in the Legislative branch, the courts have essentially stripped Biden of power, making him a lame duck president early on in his presidency.

With Democrats divided in the Senate and unable to pass any policy without Republican help, the power voters handed Biden, Harris and Democrats have left them all looking like lame ducks.

The Republicans have outmaneuvered them and shown them how real power is used. Democrats now look as stupid as their own party symbol, and they have none but Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Lea Sinema to thank for it. It is time for a stronger Independent Party to stop the madness in this country. Enough with Democrats and Republicans. Let’s get a Party that truly represents the majority of Americans.

The writer is publisher of NewsAmericasNow.com – The Black Immigrant Daily News.