A federal judge in Texas on Thursday rejected the Harris-Biden administration’s plan to quickly grant permanent residency to undocumented immigrants who marry Americans.
U.S. District Judge J. Campbell Barker’s ruling comes after he was granted access to the administration’s so-called “parole” program, which aims to grant work permits, permanent residency, and ultimately citizenship to the spouses and stepchildren of U.S. citizens. The decision came two months after the order suspending the . Have lived in the country for at least 10 years.
“This rule exceeds statutory authority and does not comply with law,” Barker wrote in his 74-page decision, adding that the policy “exceeds the statutory authority and does not comply with the law.” “The focus is on the wrong point in identifying ‘the public interest’.” Not their presence in this country. ”
The judge, an appointee of President-elect Donald Trump, found that “history and purpose support that defendant’s position stretches legal interpretation beyond a breaking point.”
The ruling follows a lawsuit filed in August by 16 Republican-led states, alleging that the program encourages illegal immigration and causes irreparable harm to the states.
“The Biden-Harris Administration, dissatisfied with a system created by Congress for overtly political purposes, is once again creating its own immigration system,” the lawsuit goes on to say.
President Biden announced the parole program in June as part of a broader series of executive actions on immigration in response to a historic surge in illegal immigration throughout his first term.
Approximately 500,000 spouses of U.S. citizens and 50,000 noncitizen children were expected to benefit from the program, which is now considered illegal.
Without parole, the noncitizen spouse would likely have to wait years outside the United States before becoming eligible for the same benefits.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) and many other Republicans described Biden’s plan at the time as “amnesty for hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens.”
Gene Hamilton, executive director of America First, who represented the coalition of states in the lawsuit, praised the attorney general for “standing up” to the Harris-Biden administration.
“From the beginning, the Biden-Harris Administration has been dedicated to destroying our immigration system and dismantling our borders,” Hamilton said in a statement. “Time and time again, America has stood up. And today, the great state of Texas and brave Ken Paxton, along with a coalition of other brave attorneys general, granted amnesty to hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens. He succeeded in blocking the illegal program that would have been granted, paving the way for the largest executive pardon in American history.
