The woke, activist judiciary is getting more bad news from the right as legislators wake up to the judiciary’s attempt to usurp its authority and the authority of the executive, as shown by the late-April spat between US District Judge Jennifer Thurston and Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) after Thurston demanded law enforcement act contrary to current law.
As background, the issue revolved around Judge Thurston’s order in which she banned United States Customs and Border Patrol agents from arresting suspected illegal aliens without a warrant. That ruling is contrary to federal law regarding when Border Patrol agents can arrest illegal aliens, as Sen. Lee made sure to note.
Sen. Lee’s comments were precipitated by a post from the Libs of TikTok X account about the situation. She said, “BREAKING: Jennifer Thurston, a U.S. District Judge, has issued an order BANNING Border Patrol from arresting suspected illegal aliens unless they have a warrant. Another activist judge who wants to protect criminal illegals. Unreal.”
It was in a quote tweet of that post that Sen. Lee sounded off. Beginning his tirade against the judge, the senator, who could act to impeach Judge Thurston, wrote, “It appears we have yet another judge problem, as U.S. District Judge Jennifer Thurston has issued an order banning Border Patrol from arresting illegal aliens *unless they have a warrant*.”
Continuing, he noted that Judge Thurston’s ruling was utterly nonsensical, as officers are allowed to make arrests when they have probable cause that a crime has been committed, which could be the case with illegal aliens. He wrote, “Officers routinely arrest—without an arrest warrant—when they acquire probable cause to believe a crime has been committed.”
Then, citing a section of the legal code to that effect, specifically as it relates to Border Patrol arresting illegal aliens without a warrant, Sen. Lee wrote, “8 U.S.C. § 1357 expressly authorizes Border Patrol to make warrantless arrests for immigration violations, particularly if the person is entering the U.S. illegally.”
Concluding that post, the senator noted that there is next to no legally justifiable reason for the judge to try to block the Border Patrol from arresting illegal aliens without a warrant, writing, “I cannot fathom the justification for a judicial order prohibiting the Border Patrol from arresting illegal aliens without a warrant.”
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Following that up with a quote tweet of his own post, Sen. Lee described the matter as being a very serious problem, writing, “Federal judge orders Border Patrol *not* to arrest illegal aliens without a warrant—even though federal law specifically authorizes them to do so. My fellow Americans, we have a problem. It couldn’t be more serious.”
Watch the clip about the matter that Sen. Lee tweeted here:
Commenters on that final post called for the judge to be arrested. For example, political reporter Kyle Becker wrote, “Arrest the judge. It is against federal law for officials to make illegal directives ‘under the color of law.’ This isn’t a joke. Look it up.” Similarly, another commenter wrote, “It’s time to arrest and disbar any judge who’s acting as an activist. They took an oath to honor the constitution, and they are destroying it instead.”
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video