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From CBS News: A federal judge on Thursday struck down a Biden administration program that would allow unauthorized immigrants married to American citizens to get legal status and a streamlined path to U.S. citizenship, declaring the policy illegal.
U.S. District Court Judge J. Campbell Barker, an appointee of President-elect Donald Trump, found the program violates U.S. immigration law, agreeing with a lawsuit filed by Texas and more than a dozen other Republican-led states.
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. When it was announced earlier this year, officials said roughly half-a-million undocumented immigrants were likely eligible for the program.
The Justice Department can appeal Thursday’s ruling, but the Keeping Families Together program is likely to be in the crosshairs of the incoming administration of Trump, who has vowed to dismantle President Biden’s immigration policies. Trump has separately promised to seal and militarize the U.S.-Mexico border and oversee the largest mass deportation in American history.
Biden had announced the Keeping Families Together program in June. It was set up to benefit illegal aliens who are married to American citizens if they have lived in the US for at least 10 years, and have not committed any ‘serious’ crimes.
They would be eligible for work permits and deportation protections, and would then be able to apply for permanent residency, or green card, through a parole process, without having to leave the country. Three years after obtaining the green card, they could then apply for U.S. citizenship.
The program would have effectively cancelled out their illegal entry into the US and expedited the process of obtaining legal status.
Texas, along with 15 other states, filed a lawsuit, saying the deal would have simply encouraged more illegal immigration. U.S. District Court Judge J. Campbell Barker blocked the program in August, then ruled on Thursday that the Biden administration had no authority to create such a program.
America First Legal announced, “🚨BREAKING NEWS🚨 We just WON our lawsuit with
@KenPaxtonTX, @Raul_Labrador, and a coalition of 14 states. We have officially STOPPED the Biden-Harris Administration’s illegal attempt to grant mass amnesty to hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens.”
🚨Breaking News https://t.co/JKu8MEorf4
— Attorney General Ken Paxton (@KenPaxtonTX) November 7, 2024
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey cheered, “BREAKING: The Court just granted our request to throw out the Biden-Harris Administration’s illegal parole-in-place program allowing illegal aliens to remain in our country after they have crossed the border. A HUGE win for the rule of law.”
MORE HERE: https://t.co/3hf4RigPTZ
— Attorney General Andrew Bailey (@AGAndrewBailey) November 8, 2024
FWD.us, an immigrant advocacy group founded by multiple Silicon Valley leaders, including Mark Zuckerberg, lamented the judge’s decision, writing, “We are deeply disappointed by this decision. The #KeepingFamiliesTogether Parole program represents a lifeline for hundreds of thousands of American families in desperate need of protection from being separated by our failed #immigration system.”
We are deeply disappointed by this decision.
The #KeepingFamiliesTogether Parole program represents a lifeline for hundreds of thousands of American families in desperate need of protection from being separated by our failed #immigration system.https://t.co/P4a4BG59ma
— FWD.us (@FWDus) November 8, 2024
BREAKING: Federal judge J. Campbell Barker (TX) has just thrown out the Biden administration’s attempt to legalize hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants married to U.S. citizens via “parole in place”, ruling that DHS lacks statutory authority” to carry out the “Keeping… pic.twitter.com/Vv4PERG5rL
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) November 8, 2024
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