A judge in Texas prevents granting legal status to spouses of U.S. citizens. Is it legal?

A federal judge in the Eastern District of Texas has temporarily blocked a Biden administration program that would grant legal protections to undocumented immigrants who are married to US citizens without having to leave the country. Just last week, immigration officials began accepting applications for the program that could help an estimated 500,000 people who would be eligible according to the White House.

The ruling by District Court Judge J Campbell Barker is to be in place for 14 days, but the stay could be extended. While the stay is in effect, immigration officials cannot process applications and grant legal relief under the program, but in the meantime they can still accept new ones. Those that have already had theirs processed and parole in place granted will not be affected by the ruling.

A judge in Texas prevents granting legal status to spouses of U.S. citizens. Is it legal?

Republican attorney generals from 16 states including Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Wyoming claim that the executive order harms their states and the US. They say that these undocumented immigrants cost the state money in education and health care. Additionally, this type of program will attract even more unauthorized migration.

America First Legal, a group founded by Stephen Miller, assisted the states in their lawsuit. Miller was a senior advisor in the Trump administration and the architect of the 2018 family separation policy at the border. That “zero tolerance” immigration program saw over 5,000 children separated from their parents. As of May this year, there were still over 1,400 who hadn’t yet been reunited with their families six years on.

The immigrants who have intervened in the lawsuit argue the contrary. That they are contributing to their communities and the nation as gainfully employed members of society, taxpayers who pay mortgages and who have US citizen children.

Those eligible for what is called the Keeping Families Together program must have been in the US for at least 10 years as of 17 June 2024 and be married to a US citizen. According to the White House the average person eligible for the process has resided in the US for 23 years.  They also must not have a felony conviction.

They would receive a form of legal relief known as “parole in place” whereby they would not have to leave the country while their green card application was processed. Generally, unauthorized immigrants married to a US citizen must leave the country to apply for permanent residence. However, that could result in them being banned from re-entering the US for 3 to 10 years.

In June, President Biden announced the program as part of a new executive order on immigration after there was failure to act on the issue in Congress. Two weeks prior he announced another executive order barring migrants who cross the southern border unlawfully from receiving asylum.

Earlier this year, there had been a bipartisan bill presented in the Senate, which gave Republicans much of what they wanted. However, it was blocked from moving forward by GOP lawmakers after former President Donald Trump told them to kill the bill so he could use immigration as a campaign issue against the current administration.