This feels like about the millionth time we've seen this recently:
A federal judge in Texas has....
Does it even matter what this judge did? He overturned a Biden program, of course, and in this case it happens to be one that provides a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants who are married to US citizens. But it hardly matters. It could have been anything from Biden. Just bring it to the Eastern District of Texas and it's toast.
I cannot access Washington Post articles, so let me gift link the NYT article on the same subject.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/26/us/undocumented-spouses-biden-administration.html?unlocked_article_code=1.GE4.oqyr.e8SC2glKqvw0&smid=url-share
The program eases legalization for undocumented people who are married to Americans and have been living in the United States for more than 10 years. The potential beneficiaries have been in the country for 23 years, on average, according to the Homeland Security Department.
Even though marrying an American citizen generally provides a pathway to U.S. citizenship already, those who cross the southern border illegally are required to return to their home countries to complete the green card process. Often, families remain separated for years during the process, which discourages immigrant spouses from seeking to adjust their status.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Since cruelty in many of these immigration matters is the object...the idea of ripping apart families that have been together for more than a decade...is simply unfathomable.
I hope that Ms Harris sees this as another perfect weapon to beat Mr Trump senseless with. This is indefensible...Traveller
PS And should be used to strengthen the movement towards reforming the Federal Judiciary.
Do you think the Court's decision should be based on whether or not the Biden administration's program is good policy or on whether or not it conforms to federal law?
I'd like to ask the north Texas judges the same question.
OK.
But then we agree that any argument that the decision is wrong/right because the Biden policy is good/bad is ipso facto wrong.
MoFo, you're back! We MISSED you so much. How's your ear?
How much more federal douche bagerery can we take? From Texas? From Florida? Can we just have a time out on the federal carpet baggers? Appoint a few sensible folk. Trash Cannon and company. And get on with our lives.
"Trash Cannon and company."
* ahem *
Federal judges have lifetime appointments. The only way to remove them is by impeachment. In all of US history only 15 judges have been impeached, of whom three were acquitted and remained on the bench.
The idea behind this iron-clad job security is to make federal judges immune to political influence. Historically it has worked well, because most presidents have taken seriously their responsibility to appoint top-notch legal minds to the federal bench. This is why Trump's policy of appointing wild-eyed political extremists to the bench has done so much damage to the country. With most of them we're just going to have to wait until they age out, and contain the damage as best we can.
Lifetime appointed judges can't be removed from office, but they can be assigned responsibility for a wastewater treatment plant in rural Nevada.
Yes. Or districts &/or circuits can change the rules of how cases are assigned, which presently are extremely loose.
The fundamental problem here, though, is that Congress is pretty much paralyzed, and the Judiciary -- which is the weakest of the three branches -- has taken the opportunity to seize a greater degree of power. "Nature abhors a vacuum" after all.
Earlier this year, the Judicial Conference proposed new rules to limit the type of blatant judge shopping that brings scores of right wing advocacy groups, red states, and Elon Musk to file their risible cases in a few select Texas federal districts and divisions that, like clockwork, return equally risible decisions in their favor. Although IIRC the changed rules would have been optional and were not that strong anyway, the Conference completely folded and walked them back after Republicans led by Moscow Mitch staged one of their patented whinefests.
And you expect the districts in question to do any such thing?
There were reports that Cannon's chief tried to get her to recuse herself on the basis of inexperience, so in SOME cases it might be possible, and of course the judiciary as a whole could change its rules of procedure. The judge-shopping has got completely out of hand.
“Even though marrying an American citizen generally provides a pathway to U.S. citizenship already, those who cross the southern border illegally are required to return to their home countries to complete the green card process”
Couples who follow the rules must endure the foreign spouse waiting outside the US for a year or so, unless they were already here on a different visa. Family separation is the norm in our system, not an exception.
Agree- Couples who follow the rules must endure long delays making illegal crossings the only viable solution.
Politics as usual but this time Johnson gave Harris the perfect dodge by refusing to respond or even put the bill up for discussion. I hope Harris points this out in any debate or press conference.
"Yes the border needs work and the bipartisan solution is sitting on Spkr Johnson's desk so you'll have to ask him why the problem isn't fixed. Next question ?"
This is why people claim democrats want open borders. Because, ultimately, they do. If someone makes it across the border democrats want to find a way to accommodate them and that’s that. It’s a perfectly fine policy outcome, but some people don’t like it for any number of reasons. They are all universally cruel and mean people. ????
Personally, I’d prefer a more orderly process where the refugees don’t have to use smugglers or travel long distances through dangerous areas.
It’s easy… Between 14 and 25 August, the US alone evacuated about 82,300 people from Hamid Karzai International Airport.
We could do this once a month (or more) from places all over the world.
Don’t feed this troll. Even a broken clock can be right twice a day, but this sick fuck is and always will be a nihiistic monster.
Personally I'd prefer a more orderly process too, but the Trump administration systematically dismantled a lot of the processing system, and of course Trump himself torpedoed the recent bipartisan effort to fix it (co-sponsored by the second most conservative member of the Senate) because he wanted the talking point.
Republicans don't care about border security. It's just code for "we hate brown people," sort of like "busing" was for Blacks, or "DEI" is today. It's straight-up racism.
(&btw everybody who reads a blog like this knows it, so you might as well 'fess up and just say you think they're "poisoning the blood of our nation" or something.)
Agreed.
Scrap diversity visas. Tighten up refugee admissions. Deport any aliens that are not a newer positive for the US. That definitely includes all criminals.
Then institute a points based system for admissions focused on education, skills, ability to support oneself. Supplement with a system where aliens can deposit $10,000 with the government and get an automatic work visa. If they commit a crime they get deported and lose their deposit. If they become a public charge deport them and deduct cost of deportation and any support they get from their deposit. If they become citizens, behave for 10 years and pay taxes, or die, return the deposit.
Would it not be easier to shoot them out of hand?
There's a considerable increase in administrative costs and burdens in the system you propose.
Simpler is better.
Well, in the meantime they can be housed in camps and perform useful labor. "Work will make you free," after all.
So a program that deports criminals and moochers and let's in people who plan to work and contribute to America is the equivalent of shooting the immigrants or off hand.
At least it is for Democrats.
Remember that when voting in November.
What's a "diversity visa", MoFo? And what's a "newer positive"? A poor reader needs an Encyclopedophile Satanica to read your posts.
Diversity Visa: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/diversity-visa-program-entry/diversity-visa-submit-entry1.html
"newer" - intended to be "net". Auto correct.
I fear that both Ogemaniac and Justin are wrong on this...and Ogemaniac misstates the evidence.
The true wait time is not a year as stated, or more properly said, average wait times is a year for Spousal Petitions, but longer for Central America and SE Asia. There seems to be no statistics on individual spouses that necessarily self deport.
This idea that the blocked program is proof of Democratic Open Borders seems even more "Wronger." A 10 year marriage4 requirement is a very, very strong filter and distance from open borders.
Instead, this is just intelligent humanitarianism...involving few absolute numbers. So Justin is just wrong without him providing a more detailed and robust opposition to the program. Traveller
this district is also notorious for upholding [inventing] IP law
The problem is generally with the Northern District of Texas, not the Eastern District.
This is my fear if Harris is elected but the senate goes to the GOP. A Mitch McConnell/Obama/Trump sequel. Harris will get ZERO bills passed and ZERO judges appointed as GOP waits for 2028 when they can campaign on Harris getting nothing accomplished. When they win back the white house, LOTs of judges will suddenly get appointed.
The US system has too many veto points, completely obscuring responsibility and eliminating accountability.
If that happens, though I would very much miss her practical and intensely just voice, Justice Sotomayor should probably resign the next day and let Biden put a replacement in place during the Lame Duck. A young and very partisan replacement.
John C. Calhoun dreamed of two Presidents, one Northern, one Southern, with an equal veto.
We've got there, at last, through the back door.
Or equal countries <:(
sorry Abe
Yes. Abe gave the idea of a United States an extra 170 years, but the differences have now simply become too great. But we'd need to break into three countries, not two. The West Coast, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Hawaii and Alaska (because it has to have SOME connection to its larger country) would be one, The Atlantic states down to Virginia would be another, possibly joining with Canada. And the rest could re-constitute the Confederacy or fall to bickering among one another as they see fit.
The nukes would have to stay with the sane countries, though the Montana ICBM fields would then become useless.
Hmm, seems like it's time to start cleaning judicial house and impeach a whole basket full of these "judges" who are neither impartial or smart. Also time to make judgeships a limited term and retirement at 65.