(The Center Square) – A federal judge in Florida ruled Wednesday that the Biden administration's “catch-and-release” border policy, in which foreign nationals in the country illegally are released into the U.S. instead of being deported, is unlawful.

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody has argued since she filed a lawsuit challenging the policy in March 2021 that the program is illegal. On Wednesday, a federal judge agreed.

In a scathing 109-page opinion, U.S. District Judge T. Kent Wetherell for the Northern District of Florida Pensacola Division ruled the Biden administration’s “catch-and-release” policy is unlawful and “due to be vacated.” He also denied the administration’s motion for summary judgement, vacated the administration’s “Parole+ATD” Policy under the Administrative Procedures Act, and gave the administration seven days to seek appellate review and comply with federal law and his ruling.