Judge Cancels Biden Immigration Program for Undocumented Spouses of U.S. Citizens

A Donald Trump-nominated judge has struck down President Joe Biden’s program that would protect undocumented immigrants married to U.S. citizens from deportation, and provide them temporary legal status and a potential path to citizenship. The program, known as “parole in place,” under the Keeping Families Together Initiative, allowed certain undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens to stay in the country, work legally, and pursue citizenship without fear of deportation. 

Judge J. Campbell Barker of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued the ruling yesterday (Nov. 7) after a legal challenge by 16 Republican-led states, spearheaded by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. In a detailed 74-page opinion, reported in the media, Judge Barker concluded that “the Biden administration overstepped its authority, asserting that the program extended beyond the powers granted by Congress.” He wrote that the administration’s interpretation of immigration law “stretches legal interpretation past its breaking point.”

The verdict comes merely days after Trump swept to victory in the presidential Elections, with cracking down on illegal immigration and launching massive deportations at the top of his list of promises. CBS notes that the ruling is “a major defeat for the outgoing Biden administration, which argued the policy, known as Keeping Families Together, promoted family unity among mixed-status households.”

Biden announced the plan on June 18. At the time the administration estimated the “parole in place” program would offer amnesty, and a path to legal permanent residency, to 500,000 spouses of U.S. citizens and 50,000 children under 21. It would allow undocumented immigrants who have American citizen spouses to receive temporary work permits and legal status without leaving the country. Until now, marrying an American citizen allowed immigrants to take up U.S. citizenship. However, for that, they had to return to their home countries to complete the process for a green card. This program allowed families to remain in the country while they pursued legal status.

There are roughly 1.1 million undocumented immigrants married to U.S. citizens in the United States, according to FWD.us, an immigration advocacy group, but not all of them are eligible for the program. To be eligible, the individual should be married to a U.S. citizen and must have lived in the U.S. for at least 10 years as of June 17, according to the Department of Homeland Security. The White House said, “The majority of people eligible for these protections have resided in the U.S. for 23 years or more.”