Judge blocks President Biden’s bid to give legal status to immigrant spouses of US citizens

A Federal judge has blocked President Joe Biden’s plan to grant legal status to the immigrant spouses of United States (US) citizens after a lawsuit from 16 Republican-led states.

U.S. District Judge, J. Campbell Barker has put a temporary hold on the ‘parole in place’ program which was announced in June.

The program allows for humanitarian parole and a path to permanent residency for certain illegal immigrant spouses without having to leave the country

The program was expected to benefit 500,000 immigrants in the country, plus about 50,000 of their children.

But 16 states, led by Texas and America First Legal, argued in a filing reported by Fox News Digital that the rule violates federal law, which prohibits illegal immigrants from obtaining benefits such as permanent status without leaving the country first and being readmitted.

They claim Biden’s move was an abuse of executive authority that sought to rewrite U.S. immigration laws and that the administration bypassed Congress for ‘blatant political purposes.’

Judge Barker issued a 14-day administrative pause on approving applications to the program with a possible extension and scheduled additional hearings in the coming weeks.

In a statement, Judge Barker said: ‘The claims are substantial and warrant closer consideration than the court has been able to afford to date.

‘As with most administrative stays, the court has simply undertaken a screening, ‘first-blush’ review of the claims and what is at stake in the dispute.’

Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton cheered the order, saying: ‘Biden’s unconstitutional scheme would have rewarded over 1 million illegal aliens with the opportunity for citizenship after breaking our country’s laws and incentivized countless more.

‘This is just the first step. We are going to keep fighting for Texas, our country, and the rule of law. Great to work together with America First Legal, Stephen Miller and our partner states.’

Stephen Miller, president of AFL, said: ‘This is a huge victory in our courtroom battle to block the Biden-Harris executive fiat giving over 1 million illegal aliens a path to U.S. citizenship.

‘That executive decree is now frozen. America First Legal is deeply honoured to partner with Attorney General Paxton, Idaho Attorney General Raul Labrador, along with 14 other states to fight this unconstitutional mass amnesty.’

The lawsuit claims Texas has to pay tens of millions of dollars annually for health care to law enforcement because of immigrants living in the state without legal status.

The court order comes one week after the Department of Homeland Security began accepting applications.

Judge Barker was appointed by former President Donald Trump in 2019 as a judge in Tyler, Texas, which lies in the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, a favoured venue for advocates pushing conservative arguments.

The judge laid out a timetable that could produce a decision shortly before the presidential election on Nov. 5 or before a newly elected president takes office in January. Judge Barker gave both sides until October 10 to file briefs in the case.

The policy offers spouses of U.S. citizens without legal status, who meet certain criteria, a path to citizenship by applying for a green card and staying in the U.S. while undergoing the process. Traditionally, the process could include a years-long wait outside of the U.S., causing what advocates equate to ‘family separation.’

The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately return an email seeking comment on the order.

‘The court´s decision tonight to halt the federal government from providing relief is devastating to the thousands of Texas families that could have benefited from this program,’ Jessica Cisneros, an attorney for the advocacy organization the Texas Immigration Law Council, said Monday.

Several families were notified of the receipt of their applications, according to attorneys advocating for eligible families who filed a motion to intervene earlier Monday.

‘Texas should not be able to decide the fate of hundreds of thousands of U.S. citizens and their immigrant spouses without confronting their reality,’ Karen Tumlin, the founder and director of Justice Action Center, said during the press conference before the order was issued.