The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) under President Donald Trump is reversing what it calls President Joe Biden’s “quiet amnesty” by reopening deportation cases for hundreds of thousands of illegal migrants that were previously closed. Under Biden, immigration courts often dismissed or administratively closed cases instead of proceeding with asylum hearings. Critics argue this allowed many illegal aliens to remain in the U.S. without facing legal consequences.
Now, the Trump administration is moving to enforce immigration laws by resuming removal proceedings for those whose cases were paused. DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin stated that President Biden used discretion to delay deportations and release illegal aliens, including criminals, into the country. She emphasized that President Trump and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem are restoring lawful proceedings.
A report by the House Judiciary Subcommittee, chaired by Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA), criticized the Biden administration’s immigration practices. It argued that the Biden-Harris administration allowed immigration courts to dismiss cases without considering the merits, resulting in what it called a systemic form of amnesty. The report highlighted that over 700,000 cases had been closed or dismissed under Biden.
In a separate but related controversy, Arizona state Senator Analise Ortiz may face obstruction-of-justice charges after she publicly alerted residents to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity. McLaughlin accused Ortiz of endangering law enforcement officers and siding with criminals over American citizens.
McLaughlin further claimed that sanctuary politicians like Ortiz have contributed to a sharp rise in assaults against ICE agents. She stressed that ICE officers risk their lives daily to remove violent criminals from U.S. communities, and that public interference puts these operations in jeopardy.
The incident sparked backlash online, particularly from the conservative account “Libs of TikTok,” which accused Ortiz of revealing live ICE locations. They urged federal authorities to pursue charges against her for compromising national security operations.
