Federal judge throws out Biden admin program to legalize illegal immigrant spouses of US citizens

A national justice successful Texas has thrown retired the Biden administration's effort to legalize hundreds of thousands of amerciable immigrants married to U.S. citizens via a "parole successful place" program.

The program, called "Keeping Families Together," was introduced by the Biden medication during the summertime and would person fixed extortion from deportation to amerciable immigrants who are joined to U.S. citizens.

U.S. District Judge J. Campbell Barker, who was appointed by present President-elect Donald Trump, ruled connected Thursday that the programme is unlawful and exceeded Biden's enforcement authority.

"We conscionable WON our suit with Ken Paxton, Raul Labrador, and a conjugation of 14 states. We person officially STOPPED the Biden-Harris Administration’s amerciable effort to assistance wide amnesty to hundreds of thousands of amerciable aliens," America First Legal wrote successful a station connected X pursuing the decision. 

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This divided shows the borderline on with President Biden, Vice President Harris and DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. (Qian Weizhong/VCG via Getty Images, Andrew Harnik/Getty Images, Alex Wong/Getty Images, Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

The programme was launched successful August but was blocked days aboriginal by Barker, who left it frozen portion helium considered a ineligible situation brought by Texas and a conjugation of U.S. states with Republican attorneys general.

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"Since time one, the Biden-Harris Administration has dedicated itself to the decimation of our migration strategy and the erasure of our borders. Time and again, the States stood up. And today, the large State of Texas and the courageous Ken Paxton, alongside a conjugation of different brave Attorneys General, succeeded successful stopping an amerciable programme that would person provided amnesty to hundreds of thousands of amerciable aliens and paved the way for the largest administrative amnesty successful American history. We are arrogant to basal alongside these patriots successful defence of our large nation," said Gene Hamilton, America First Legal Executive Director. 

The medication had estimated that astir 500,000 immigrants would beryllium impacted, and astir 50,000 children. 

However, the conjugation of states claims that it would let much than 1.3 cardinal amerciable immigrants to benefit. 

The states argued that the regularisation violates national law, which prohibits amerciable immigrants from obtaining migration benefits, including imperishable status, without archetypal having near the state and being readmitted. They reason it does that by an unlawful usage of parole, which is constricted to usage connected a "case-by-case ground for urgent humanitarian reasons oregon important nationalist benefit."

"Joe Biden and Kamala Harris created a situation astatine the confederate border, leaving the American radical to wage the consequences. In the aftermath of the national government’s refusal to act, states similar Missouri had no prime but to measurement successful and instrumentality enactment to unafraid our confederate border," said Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey. "We filed suit to guarantee millions of unvetted individuals are not invading our communities."

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Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas speaks Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, during a briefing astatine the White House successful Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Fox News Digital reached retired to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the White House astir the caller ruling but did not instantly person a response. 

In a erstwhile connection to Fox News Digital, DHS promised to support the argumentation successful court. 

"The Department of Homeland Security is committed to Keeping Families Together. Keeping Families Together is grounded successful well-established ineligible authority, and its intent – enabling the families of U.S. Citizens to unrecorded without fearfulness of separation – is accordant with cardinal American values. We volition support it successful court. DHS is continuing to process already filed applications, and to judge and process caller applications," a spokesperson said.

The White House besides antecedently defended the argumentation and accused Republican officials of being "more focused connected playing authorities than helping American families oregon fixing our broken migration system."

"This suit is seeking to unit U.S. citizens and their families, people who person lived successful the United States for much than 10 years, to proceed to unrecorded successful the shadows. The suit aims to abstracted American citizens from their spouses and stepchildren who are already eligible for lawful imperishable residency and could stay unneurotic done this process," spokesperson Angelo Fernández Hernández said. "This suit goes against our nation’s values, and we volition vigorously support Keeping Families Together and our quality to marque the migration strategy much just and much just. We volition besides proceed securing our borderline and enforcing our laws, something Congressional Republicans person refused to bash clip and clip again." 

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"Since President Biden announced new, decisive enforcement actions to unafraid the border, encounters betwixt ports of introduction person dropped importantly - encounters successful July 2024 were the lowest since September 2020 and little than astatine this constituent successful 2019," helium added.

The states successful the suit are Texas, Idaho, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee and Wyoming.

Reuters contributed to this report.