Judge blocks Biden-Harris admin's 'parole' program to fast-track permanent residency, citizenship for illegal immigrants

On Monday, a federal judge in Texas slapped a temporary pause on President Joe Biden’s plan to fast-track permanent residency for illegal immigrants married to American citizens. 

According to The New York Post, US District Judge J. Campbell Barker issued a two-week administrative stay the same day the Department of Homeland Security began accepting applications for the Parole in Place program, which grants work authorization, permanent residency, and eventually citizenship to spouses and stepchildren of America citizens who have been in the US for at least 10 years. 

Barker wrote in his nine-page order, “The claims are substantial and warrant closer consideration than the court has been able to afford to date.”

The order was in response to a lawsuit filed Friday by 16 Republican-controlled states arguing the program “incentivizes illegal immigration and will irreparably harm” the states. 

The lawsuit also claimed the “Biden-Harris Administration — dissatisfied with the system Congress created, and for blatant political purposes — has yet again attempted to create its own immigration system.” 

Biden announced the program in June, as part of a series of executive actions on immigration. Approximately 500,000 spouses of US citizens and 50,000 non-citizen children were expected to be part of the program, without which non-citizen spouses typically would have spent years waiting outside the US before qualifying for the same benefits. 

Applicants must have lived continuously in the US for at least 10 years, be married as of June 17, 2024, not have a disqualifying criminal history, and not be deemed a security threat. To enroll in the program, applicants must have documents proving the spouse has been living in the US and pay a $580 application fee. 

At the time it was announced, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and other Republican lawmakers described Biden’s plan as “amnesty to hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens.” 

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton stated in the complaint that Texas has been forced to pay tens of millions of dollars annually to cover the costs of illegal immigrants living in Texas. He posted on X, “Biden’s unconstitutional scheme would have rewarded over 1 million illegal aliens with the opportunity for citizenship after breaking our country’s laws — and incentivized countless more.”

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey called the ruling a “HUGE win for the rule of law.”