Federal Judge Strikes Down Biden Program Offering Legal Status To Undocumented Spouses Of U.S. Citizens

08 Nov 2024 by Siladitya Ray · Forbes

Topline

A federal judge in Texas struck down a Biden administration program that offered legal status to undocumented immigrants married to U.S. citizens on Thursday, a move the White House has warned could affect more than 500,000 immigrants residing in the country.

President Biden is announcing new changes to keep families together who have DACA Dreamer spouses ... [+] seeking to change their immigration status.NurPhoto via Getty Images

Key Facts

In his ruling, Federal Judge J. Campbell Barker sided with the 16 Republican attorneys general who had sought to block the move, pointing to the Biden administration’s “lack of statutory authority” to implement such a law.

Barker also agreed with one of the plaintiff states, Texas, that it would have to bear substantial costs on account of the undocumented migrants who will be allowed to remain in place in the U.S. under this law.

Biden officials can appeal the ruling, but the so-called “Keeping Families Together” program is likely to be a target for President-elect Donald Trump’s administration when he takes office in January.

Crucial Quote

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, who was one of the plaintiffs, tweeted: “The Court just granted our request to throw out the Biden-Harris Administration's illegal parole-in-place program allowing illegal aliens to remain in our country after they have crossed the border…A HUGE win for the rule of law.”

Chief Critic

“Judge J. Campbell Barker did not just dismantle the…[Keep Families Together] program, he shattered the hopes of hundreds of thousands of American families,” Ashley DeAzevedo, the president of American Families United said in a statement on X. DeAzevedo, whose group supported the law, also told ABC News: “We urge the Biden-Harris administration to immediately appeal Judge Barker's ruling…Families like ours deserve better than this blatant attempt to stop a legal program, and we will not stop until the courts rectify this injustice.”

Big Number

550,000. That is the total number of people the Keeping Families Together program could have helped, the Biden administration has said. This includes 500,000 undocumented immigrants who are married to U.S. citizens and their 50,000 undocumented stepchildren of U.S. citizens.

Key Background

President Joe Biden unveiled the “Keeping Families Together” program in June, which allows undocumented immigrants married to U.S. citizens to apply for permanent residency without leaving the country first. Under the previous system, undocumented spouses are required to leave the country and then apply for long-term legal status—a process that could take months or several years, which keeps families separated. The White House said the program will help approximately 500,000 spouses of U.S. citizens and 50,000 children under the age of 21. To be eligible, applicants must have lived in the U.S. continuously for 10 or more years and be married to an American citizen at the time of Biden’s announcement. The program faced immediate pushback from Republicans and 16 attorneys general from Republican-led states moved to sue the administration.