A federal judge has temporarily blocked a program launched by President Joe Biden‘s administration allowing undocumented immigrants a pathway to U.S. citizenship, NBC News reports.
The ‘Keeping Families Together’ program, which allowed undocumented immigrants married to U.S. citizens to apply for green cards without leaving the country, was blocked by U.S. Eastern District of Texas Judge J. Campbell Barker on Monday (August 26). The program would provide a “parole in place” to undocumented spouses who could prove they’ve lived in the U.S. continuously for at least 10 years.
Undocumented immigrants married to U.S. citizens typically need to leave the country to apply for green cards and eventually gain citizenship, which would risk potential yearslong or permanent separation from their spouses, while the “parole in place” would give them the option to apply in the U.S. The White House estimated 500,000 people were eligible for the program and federal immigration agencies started accepting applications on August 19, however, the Republican attorneys general of Texas and 15 other states filed a lawsuit to halt the program, which led to Barker’s decision.
Barker wrote that the claims made in the lawsuit “are substantial and warrant closer consideration than the court has been able to afford to date.” The ruling orders the government to stop granting parole under the program, however, doesn’t prohibit the government from receiving applications, which won’t be processed until the stay is lifted.
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