Federal judge dismisses lawsuit saying Texas has not 'suffered an injury' from Biden program shipping in illegal immigrants

A federal judge has thrown out a lawsuit from Texas and other red states aimed at halting a Biden administration immigration “parole” program, which allows hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants from Venezuela, Cuba, Haiti, and Nicaragua to seek asylum and enter the United States. 

U.S. District Judge Drew B. Tipton, in his ruling, clarified that the court was not assessing the legality of the migrant program itself but rather the legal standing of the Republican-led states who brought the lawsuit.  

"The Court finds that Plaintiffs have not proven that Texas has suffered an injury and therefore do not have standing to maintain this suit," Tipton stated in his decision. 

Under the current program, up to 30,000 individuals each month from Venezuela, Cuba, Haiti, and Nicaragua, who are seeking asylum and have financial sponsors in the US, can be granted entry, according to Axios.  Additionally, illegal immigrants are permitted to fly into the U.S. are given two-year work permits, which the President has the authority to approve under humanitarian parole. 

The program page states, "An individual who is paroled into the United States has not been formally admitted into the United States for purposes of immigration law.” 

“Parole” as defined in the program, “allows an individual, who may be inadmissible or otherwise ineligible for admission into the United States, to be paroled into the United States for a temporary period.” Length of parole is determined by US Citizenship and Immigration Services “ends on the date the parole period expires or when a parolee departs the United States or acquires an immigration status.” 

The parole authority in question allows presidents to admit individuals seeking asylum into the country for "urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit." However, Republican-led states, in an effort to secure the southern border, believe that the Biden administration is applying this authority too broadly.  

In response to the ruling, a White House spokesperson emphasized the program's success in providing lawful pathways for illegal immigrants that have passed “rigorous vetting.” 

"The district court’s decision is based on the success of this program, which has expanded lawful pathways for nationals from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela who have a sponsor in this country and pass our rigorous vetting process, while dramatically decreasing the number of nationals from those countries crossing our Southwest Border," White House spokesperson Angelo Fernández Hernández said in response to the ruling.