Federal judge rejects Biden policy protecting immigrant spouses and children from deportation • Florida Phoenix

WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Thursday struck down a White House policy that created a path to citizenship for people in the country without permanent status who were married to a U.S. citizen.

Judge J. Campbell Barker of the Eastern District of Texas pent-up that the Biden administration has overstepped its authority and the program “stretches legal interpretation beyond its breaking point” of US immigration law. The lawsuit was brought by Texas and other Republican-led states.

The US Department of Homeland Security’s program, called Keeping Families Together, has reportedly protected at least 550,000 immigrant spouses and their children from deportation.

With less than three months before President-elect Donald Trump takes the oath of office, the incoming administration is unlikely to defend the program, and Trump has vowed to carry out mass deportations.

In an interview Thursday with NBC News, Trump said there is “no price tag” when it comes to mass deportations and that his administration will have “no choice” but to carry them out.

“Obviously, we have to make the border strong and strong, and we have to — at the same time, we want people to come into our country,” he told NBC. “And you know, I’m not somebody who says, ‘No, you can’t go in.’ We want people to come in.”

Enacting mass deportations would be a costly undertaking that would require congressional approval, which might be easier if Trump is given GOP control of Congress. Republicans are headed for control of both chambers.

As the former president is set to enter a second term in January, he has vowed to immediately begin carrying out mass deportations and end programs that have granted temporary protection to immigrants, such as humanitarian parole.

Trump criticized Biden’s policy that was canceled on Thursday as a “mass amnesty” program.

“Mass amnesty” is a legal term that is considered an official pardon, but the program had certain requirements. Individuals considered for citizenship had to have been married to a US citizen for at least a decade and undergo an extreme vetting process by DHS.

“This is unsustainable and cannot be allowed to continue!” trump card he wrote of the program when it was announced in June. “On day one, we will close the border and begin deporting millions of Biden’s illegal criminals.”

Texas judge Barker was appointed during Trump’s first term. The program was already suspended in August when Texas GOP Attorney General Ken Paxton led a lawsuit against him.

The states that have joined the suit are Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee and Wyoming.

Those states argued that the Biden administration overstepped its authority in creating the program and that it would financially harm the states if people who qualify for citizenship were allowed to remain in the country.

The states were represented by America First Legal, an organization founded by Trump adviser Stephen Miller — the architect of Trump’s tough immigration policies during his first term.

Ashley DeAzevedo, President American Families Unitedwhich represents US citizens married to people without permanent status, in a statement urged the Biden administration to appeal.

“District Judge J. Campbell Barker not only dismantled the Keeping Families Together program, he dashed the hopes of hundreds of thousands of American families,” she said. “Families like ours deserve more than this blatant attempt to stop a legal program, and we will not stop until the courts right this injustice.”

An estimated 500,000 undocumented spouses and their children would have been eligible to apply for legal permanent residence – a green card – subject to certain requirements. About 50,000 children who do not have legal status and have an immigrant parent married to a US citizen would also have been included in this benefit.

The Justice Department did not respond to States Newsroom’s request for comment.

Last updated at 11:25, November 8, 2024