Attorney General Todd Rokita leads 18-state lawsuit challenging unlawful open-borders policies

‘Circumvention of Lawful Pathways’ rule is a sham and smoke screen

Attorney General Todd Rokita is leading an 18-state lawsuit challenging the Biden administration’s proposed new “Circumvention of Lawful Pathways” rule — a policy debacle that continues the federal government’s recent reckless and unlawful coddling of illegal immigrants.

“In a truly Orwellian twist, the federal government has depicted this latest measure as a tool for reducing illegal immigration,” Attorney General Rokita said. “As a matter of fact, this new rule would make it even easier to illegally immigrate into the United States — and everyday Hoosiers right here in Indiana would pay the price. I’m grateful to the other states that have joined our lawsuit to stop this egregious violation of existing U.S. law.”

Federal bureaucrats rolled out the proposed new rule due to the expiration of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) Title 42 public health order, which gave authorities greater ability to bar illegal immigrants from crossing the border during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The new rule, however, essentially tries to define the problem away by re-characterizing border crossings as “lawful pathways” that previously would have been illegal.

“We’re now seeing more than 10,000 illegal border crossings occurring within some 24-hour periods,” Attorney General Rokita said. “These are the highest numbers ever, and a large portion of these people are hardened criminals and cartel members. We cannot long endure this kind of invasion.”

Attorney General Rokita also thanked his own team for their hard work organizing the multistate coalition and filing the lawsuit — including Betsy DeNardi, Director of Complex Litigation, and Corrine Youngs, Policy Director and Legislative Counsel.