Just a month after rogue pro-invader Federal District Court Judge Jeffrey Cummings (Biden 2023) ordered the release of hundreds of illegal invaders detained by immigration authorities based on a 2022 Biden-agreed-upon consent decree about warrantless arrests of illegals, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals panel with two Biden and one Trump appointed judge agreed to stay that order, keeping the invaders detained. A particularly interesting facet of this case—ignored by the two Biden appellate judges, but driving a forceful dissent by the Trump member of the panel—is whether it can even be lawful for a consent decree entered into by a prior administration to bind the executive authority of a later administration. Such “zombie” consent decrees certainly appear profoundly undemocratic, as they prevent the American people from effecting political change through electing a new administration with preferred policies.
