Texas judge halts Biden program offering legal status to immigrants married to US citizens

A federal judge in Texas on Monday halted a Biden administration policy that would grant legal status to immigrant spouses of U.S. citizens and their children without forcing them to leave the country.

The order by U.S. District Judge J. Campbell Barker temporarily blocks the program a week after the Department of Homeland Security began accepting applications. The ruling comes less than a week after a coalition of 16 Republican-led states sued to end the program, writing in a complaint that it "incentivizes illegal immigration and will irreparably harm" the states.

The Biden administration policy, which would protect its accepted applicants from deportation, could benefit an estimated half a million adults in the country illegally and 50,000 of their children.

Under the program, undocumented spouses and their children could apply for permanent resident status without leaving the country as long as they've lived in the U.S. for at least 10 years as of June 17, 2024 and were legally married to a U.S. citizen by that date. Undocumented immigrants who have previously been placed on parole or pose a threat to public safety or national security are not eligible for the program.

The program would also allow undocumented immigrants to work for three years in the U.S. while seeking permanent legal status instead of forcing them to leave and await processing in another country, which was common before the program.

“I refuse to believe that to secure our border we have to walk away from being an American," Biden said when he unveiled the program in June, adding that generations "have been renewed, revitalized and refreshed by the talent, the skill, the hard work, the courage and determination of immigrants coming to our country.”

The administrative stay by Baker, a judge appointed by former President Donald Trump, currently is limited to two weeks but it could be extended. Baker said in the order that he decided to issue a stay after undertaking a "first-blush review of the claims and what is at stake in the dispute."

"The claims are substantial and warrant closer consideration than the court has been able to afford to date," he wrote.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton celebrated the judge’s order in a statement on X, writing, “We have temporarily BLOCKED Biden's unlawful new ‘parole in place’ program.”

“This is just the first step,” he added, calling the program an “unconstitutional scheme.”

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody also cheered the temporary block on X, saying, “We won’t stop fighting the Biden-Harris open-borders agenda.”

Karen Tumlin, founder of the immigrants rights nonprofit Justice Action Center, called the order an “extreme measure” and expressed sorrow for the group's clients and the others hoping to be accepted into the program.

“To halt a process for which Texas has not been able to provide an iota of evidence that it would harm the state is baffling,” she said in a statement. “This is heart-breaking for our clients and the thousands of couples who hope to benefit from this process and be able to live without fear that their family will be separated.”

Justice Action Center and Make the Road New York, an immigrants rights group, filed a motion on Monday to intervene in the case on behalf of 11 clients.

“We hope the court will rule swiftly in favor of our Motion so that our clients will finally have their perspectives considered, as their family unity and stability hangs in the balance,” Harold Solis, co-legal director of Make the Road New York, said in a statement. “We will continue to fight for as long as needed to ensure that the Keeping Families Together process remains intact.”

Immigration has emerged as a top issue for voters heading into the November election.

The Biden administration has faced widespread criticism for the record numbers of undocumented immigrants caught illegally crossing the U.S. border during his time in office. Migrant encounters broke historical records each of the past three years, topping 2.5 million in 2023.

The same month Biden announced the program for undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens, he also signed an executive order authorizing the U.S. to turn away migrants who enter the country without legal permission when more than 2,500 migrants enter the country between legal ports of entry.

Along the U.S.-Mexico border, migrant apprehensions plunged in July from a year ago, to the lowest level of the Biden era, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection statistics released in August. The agency reported 56,408 migrant encounters between ports of entry in July, down 57% from 132,642 the same month a year ago and down 32% from June.

Contributing: Michael Collins and Lauren Villagran, USA TODAY