A federal judge handed down the sentence Thursday. Biden administration program It grants legal status to unauthorized immigrants who marry American citizens, giving them a reasonable path to American citizenship, and declares the policy illegal.
U.S. District Court Judge J. Campbell Barker, an appointee of President-elect Donald Trump, agreed that the program violates U.S. immigration law. a lawsuit was filed Texas and more than a dozen other Republican-led states participated.
The ruling is a major defeat for the outgoing Biden administration, which had argued that the policy, known as “Keeping Families Together,” would promote family unity in mixed-status households. When the plan was announced earlier this year, officials said roughly 500,000 undocumented immigrants would likely be eligible for the program.
The Justice Department may appeal Thursday’s ruling, but the Keep Families Together program is likely to become a target for the incoming Trump administration. vowed to dismantle President Biden’s immigration policy. Separately, Trump promised to close and militarize the U.S.-Mexico border and oversee the largest mass deportation in U.S. history.
Representatives from the White House and the Department of Homeland Security did not respond to requests for comment.
The “Keeping Families Together” initiative was announced in June, just weeks after Biden took another executive action. significantly limit asylum Along the US-Mexico border.
The program grants work permits and deportation protection to undocumented immigrants who marry American citizens and have lived in the United States for at least 10 years without committing serious crimes.
Most importantly, the policy also allows these immigrants to apply for permanent residence, also known as a green card. After three years, green card holders who are married to U.S. citizens will be able to apply for citizenship.
Immigrants married to U.S. citizens are already eligible for green cards on paper. However, U.S. immigration law requires those who entered the country illegally to leave the country and legally re-enter the country in order to be eligible for a green card. But leaving the U.S. after being in the country illegally for a while can result in three or 10 years of asylum, which deters many families from pursuing that option.
The Biden administration’s program would allow eligible immigrants to apply for green cards without leaving the country by giving them an immigration benefit called parole that effectively cancels their illegal entry.
In her ruling, Campbell Barker said the Biden administration does not have the legal authority to grant parole to undocumented immigrants already in the United States.
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