Texas Leads Republican-Led States in Legal Challenge Against Biden’s “Parole in Place” Immigration Program

The Lone Star state, along with 15 other republican-led states, has instigated a lawsuit to halt a federal immigration program initiated by President Biden that could potentially provide nearly 500,000 undocumented immigrants, who are married to U.S. citizens, with a route towards citizenship.

A Lawsuit in Question

The coalition of states, spearheaded by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, launched the lawsuit on Friday. The legal document claims that the Biden administration circumvented Congress to carve out a potential path to American citizenship, which it described as being for “blatant political purposes.” The suit contends that, “This action incentivizes illegal immigration and will irreparably harm the Plaintiff states.”

About the Controversial Federal Program

With the policy in question, many spouses who lack legal immigration status can apply for a mechanism called “parole in place”. This grants them permission to remain within U.S. soil, allows them to apply for a ‘green card’, or permanent residency status, and eventually initiates a path towards citizenship.

The program, that began accepting applications on Monday, has become a contentious point, particularly in an election year where immigration finds itself at the forefront of several critical debates. Numerous Republicans have launched attacks on the policy, arguing that it offers amnesty to those who have broken the law.

Political Reactions

Paxton released a statement on Friday that the plan “violates the Constitution and actively worsens the illegal immigration disaster that is hurting Texas and our country.” The suit targets the Department of Homeland Security, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, and other members of Biden administration, accusing them of attempting to parole spouses “en masse,” which the states contend is an abuse of power.

In a similar vein, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody commented that her state is opposing the parole in place policy as she believes that the Biden administration “is illegally using ‘parole’ in a systematic way to advance their open-borders agenda.”

Despite the resistance, a White House spokesperson told CBS News that the administration is ready to “vigorously defend” the policy, arguing that the lawsuit merely proves that “Republican elected officials continue to demonstrate that they are more focused on playing politics than helping American families or fixing our broken immigration system.”

A Glimpse at Future Prospects

To qualify for the program, immigrants must have been living continuously in the U.S. for at least 10 years, cannot pose a security threat, cannot possess a criminal record, and must have been married to a citizen by June 17th – the day before the program was declared.

They are required to pay a fee of $580 to apply and have to fill out an exhaustive application form which includes a rationale for why they deserve humanitarian parole. The application must be supported by multiple documents that authenticate their lengthy stay in the country. They can apply to the Department of Homeland Security, and if approved, they get three years to seek permanent residency. During this period, they have the option to procure work authorization.

The administration estimates that approximately 500,000 individuals could be eligible for this program, along with about 50,000 of their children. Regardless of the lawsuit, the DHS spokesperson confirmed that the agency will continue to accept and handle applications.