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Federal judge blocks Biden-Harris admin from giving legal status to select illegal immigrants

August 27, 2024 | | Print Article

A Trump-appointed district judge has blocked the Biden administration from granting legal status to criminal aliens who are married to U.S. citizens.

U.S. District Judge J. Campbell Barker issued a two-week, temporary block on the “Keeping Families Together” program on Monday in response to lawsuits from Texas and 15 other Republican-led states.

According to Fox News, the program would have allowed “humanitarian parole and a path to permanent residency for certain illegal immigrant spouses of U.S. citizens without them having to leave the country.”

The 16 states that sued argued that the program would have violated federal law, which explicitly prohibits criminal aliens from obtaining any sort of immigration benefits without first having left the country and been readmitted.

Barker responded to the argument by putting a stay on the program.

“The claims are substantial and warrant closer consideration than the court has been able to afford to date,” he wrote in his order.

He added that his stay isn’t equal to “any ultimate conclusions about the success or likely success” of the Republican states’ claims but rather is a “first-blush” review of the claims.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who reportedly led the suit, was pleased by Barker’s “first step” ruling:

“Biden’s unconstitutional scheme would have rewarded over 1 million illegal aliens with the opportunity for citizenship after breaking our country’s laws—and incentivized countless more,” Paxton said in a statement to Fox News.

“This is just the first step. We are going to keep fighting for Texas, our country, and the rule of law. Great to work together with America First Legal, Stephen Miller, and our partner states,” he added.

Miller, whose law firm was instrumental in securing Monday’s victory, also responded to the ruling.

“This is a huge victory in our courtroom battle to block the Biden-Harris executive fiat giving over 1 million illegal aliens a path to U.S. citizenship,” he said in a statement. “That executive decree is now frozen.”

“America First Legal is deeply honored to partner with Attorney General Paxton, [Idaho] Attorney General [Raul] Labrador, along with 14 other states to fight this unconstitutional mass amnesty,” he added.

Had the program been allowed to continue, it would have reportedly benefitted nearly half a million criminal aliens.

“The new process would have applied to noncitizen spouses who have lived in the U.S. for 10 years as of June and are judged not to pose a threat to public safety or national security, allowing them to apply for permanent residency,” according to Fox News.

“In addition, individuals must have no disqualifying criminal history or otherwise constitute a threat to national security or public safety and should otherwise merit a favorable exercise of discretion,” a Biden administration fact sheet notes.

The Biden administration responded to Barker’s ruling by saying they intend to keep accepting applications for the program.

“Keeping Families Together enables U.S. citizens and their family members to live without fear of separation, consistent with fundamental American values,” a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told Fox News.

“The Department of Homeland Security will comply with the court’s decision, including continuing to accept applications, while we defend Keeping Families Together in court,” the spokesperson added.

In a statement of their own, the Biden White House attacked Republicans for being “more focused on playing politics than helping American families or fixing our broken immigration system.”

“This lawsuit is seeking to force U.S. citizens and their families, people who have lived in the United States for more than ten years, to continue to live in the shadows,” a spokesperson said. “The lawsuit aims to separate American citizens from their spouses and stepchildren who are already eligible for lawful permanent residency and could remain together through this process.”

“This lawsuit goes against our nation’s values, and we will vigorously defend Keeping Families Together and our ability to make the immigration system more fair and more just. We will also continue securing our border and enforcing our laws, something Congressional Republicans have refused to do time and time again,” the spokesperson added.

Vivek Saxena
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