Texas and 15 other states on Friday filed a lawsuit in federal court to block the Biden administration's program that protects long-term undocumented people married to U.S. citizens from deportation and gives them a path to citizenship.
The states involved in the lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, say the Department of Homeland Security created the program illegally and that the 16 states will suffer financial harm from its implementation.
“According to the lawsuit, longstanding federal law prohibits aliens who entered the United States illegally from receiving most immigration benefits. This includes obtaining lawful permanent resident status — without first leaving the United States and waiting outside the United States for the required time — based on an approved family- or employment-based visa petition.”
Other states involved in the lawsuit include Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee and Wyoming.
The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment from States Newsroom.
Applications for the program known as parole opened this week.
The Biden administration created this program because under current U.S. immigration law, if a noncitizen enters the country without permission, they are ineligible for permanent legal status and will need to leave the United States and then re-enter by applying for a green card through their American spouse, a lengthy process that can take years.
The states are represented by America First Legal, founded by former Trump adviser Stephen Miller, an architect of the former president’s hardline immigration policies.
This program is a one-time procedure and applies to long-term undocumented persons who are married to US citizens.
An estimated 500,000 non-U.S. spouses and their children will be eligible to apply for lawful permanent residency — a green card — under certain requirements. This is expected to include about 50,000 non-U.S. children who have an immigrant parent married to a U.S. citizen.
These qualifications include that the alien has been a resident of the United States for 10 years as of Monday, June 17, 2024, and has been married to a U.S. citizen since that date. A spouse who is not a U.S. citizen cannot be considered a security threat.
