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Judge Axes Program Shielding 11/08 06:58
(AP) -- A federal judge on Thursday struck down a Biden administration
policy that aimed to ease a path to citizenship for some undocumented
immigrants who are married to U.S. citizens.
The program, lauded as one of the biggest presidential actions to help
immigrant families in years, allowed undocumented spouses and stepchildren of
U.S. citizens to apply for a green card without first having to leave the
country.
The temporary relief from deportation brought a brief sense of security to
some 500,000 immigrants estimated to benefit from the program before
Texas-based U.S. District Judge J. Campbell Barker put it on hold in August,
days after applicants filed their paperwork.
Barker ruled Thursday that the Biden administration had overstepped its
authority by implementing the program and had stretched the legal
interpretation of relevant immigration law "past its breaking point."
The short-lived Biden administration initiative known as "Keeping Families
Together" would have been unlikely to remain in place after Donald Trump took
office in January. But its early termination creates greater uncertainty for
immigrant families as many are bracing for Trump's return to the White House.
Trump's election victory this week sets the stage for a swift crackdown on
undocumented individuals after the Republican ran on promises of "mass
deportation." The president-elect energized his supporters on the campaign
trail with a litany of anti-immigrant statements, including that immigrants
were "poisoning the blood" of the nation.
During his first term, Trump appointed Barker as a judge in Tyler, Texas,
which lies in the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, a favored venue for
advocates pushing conservative arguments.
Barker had placed the immigration initiative on hold after Texas and 15
other states, led by their Republican attorneys general, filed a legal
challenge accusing the executive branch of bypassing Congress to help immigrant
families for "blatant political purposes."
Republicans argued the initiative created costs for their states and could
draw more migrants to the U.S.
The policy would have applied to people who have been living continuously in
the U.S. for at least 10 years, do not pose a security threat and have utilized
the existing legal authority known as "parole in place" that offers deportation
protections.
Those married to a citizen by June 17, the day before the program was
announced, could pay a $580 application fee and fill out a lengthy application
explaining why they deserve humanitarian parole. If approved, applicants would
have three years to seek permanent residency and obtain work authorization.
It was not immediately clear Thursday whether anyone had received approval
under the program, which only accepted applications for about a week before the
judge placed it on hold.
Noncitizen spouses are already eligible for legal status but often have to
apply from their home countries. The process typically includes a years-long
wait outside of the U.S., which can separate family members with different
immigration statuses.
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