Sixteen US states are suing to end a federal program that could potentially open a path for nearly half a million immigrants who have no legal status but are married to US citizens to citizenship.
These states have Republican leaders.
The coalition filed a lawsuit Friday seeking to halt the program launched by President Joe Biden in June, saying in the lawsuit that the administration bypassed Congress to create a pathway to citizenship for “blatant political purposes.”
“This action incentivizes illegal immigration and will harm Plaintiffs’ states,” said the lawsuit filed in federal court in Tyler, Texas.
Under the policy, which began accepting applications on Monday (Aug. 26), many spouses without legal status can apply for so-called “conditional release” that offers permission to stay in the U.S., apply green cardand ultimately gain a path to citizenship.
But the program has sparked controversy in an election year where immigration is a major issue. Many Republicans have attacked the policy, arguing that it is essentially a form of amnesty for people who have broken the law.
Immigration Disaster
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a statement Friday that the plan “violates the Constitution and actively worsens the scourge of illegal immigration that is hurting Texas and our nation.”
The lawsuit, filed against the Department of Homeland Security, Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and other Biden administration officials, accuses the department of seeking to grant parole to couples “en masse,” which the states say is an abuse of power. The states also filed a motion asking that the program be put on hold while the lawsuits continue.
In a statement posted on Platform X, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody said her state opposes the parole policy because she believes the Biden administration is “illegally using ‘parole’ in a systematic way to advance their open borders agenda.”
America First Legal, a conservative nonprofit organization led by Stephen Miller, a former adviser to former President Donald Trump, is acting as co-counsel in the lawsuit.
Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Mayra Alejandra said the agency will defend the Keeping Families Together program in court and continues to process existing applications and accept new ones.
White House spokesman Angelo Fernández Hernández said Republicans were “playing politics” and called the lawsuit another form of family separation.
The bipartisan immigration and criminal justice organization FWD.us said the program complies with the law and noted the timing of the lawsuit — as Vice President Kamala Harris accepted the Democratic presidential nomination.
“The sole motivation behind this lawsuit is the cruelty of breaking up families and the crude politics of expecting a judge to do what the anti-immigrant movement wants,” the organization said in a statement.
The lawsuit argues that the state would bear the additional burden of immigrants living in the country.
According to the lawsuit, Texas spends tens of millions of dollars each year on a program that provides health insurance to children, including those in the country illegally.
The lawsuit also says the state spends millions of dollars each year “on increased law enforcement as its citizens experience increased crime, unemployment, environmental degradation and social unrest caused by illegal immigration.” (ft)
