Judge blocks Biden administration from granting legal status to spouses of U.S. citizens

A federal judge in Texas on Monday temporarily blocked the Biden administration from granting legal status to unauthorized immigrants married to American citizens, granting a request from 16 Republican-led states who challenged the new policy.

The order by District Court Judge J. Campbell Barker effectively brings to a halt a large immigration program that opened just last week to an estimated half a million immigrants living in the U.S. without legal status. While preliminary and temporary, the ruling is also an early blow to one of the two major moves taken by President Biden in June on immigration, a top campaign issue in the 2024 race for president.

Announced just weeks after another executive action that has greatly curtailed access to asylum at the southern border, the program, known as Keeping Families Together, was announced as a measure to address the plight of some of the undocumented immigrants who have lived in the U.S. for years in legal limbo.

The policy allows unauthorized immigrants to apply for temporary work permits and deportation protections, under an immigration benefit known as parole, if they are married to U.S. citizens, have lived in the country for at least 10 years and pass background checks. The program is also open to the undocumented stepchildren of U.S. citizens. Those with felony convictions are ineligible for process.

Most importantly, the program also unlocks a streamlined pathway to permanent residency and, after several years, U.S. citizenship, for eligible immigrants.

Immigrants, including those living in the U.S. illegally, can get a green card if they marry an American citizen. But U.S. law generally requires those who entered the U.S. illegally to leave the country and re-enter legally to be eligible for a green card. Doing so, however, can trigger a 3- or 10-year ban from the U.S., prompting many mixed-status families not to pursue that option.

While the Biden administration has argued its initiative promotes family unity in households that include U.S. citizens, Texas and the other Republican-controlled states said in a lawsuit filed Friday that the policy rewards illegal immigration. The red states, which have challenged nearly every major Biden administration immigration move, said the policy misused the immigration parole authority.

On Monday, Barker, the federal judge in Texas appointed by former President Donald Trump, issued an administrative order prohibiting the Department of Homeland Security from granting parole to those applying for the Keeping Families Together policy.

Barker made his order valid for 14 days but he suggested he could extend it. While they can't approve them, federal officials can continue accepting applications under the program.

Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Naree Ketudat confirmed on Tuesday the agency had stopped approving cases under the process.

"Keeping Families Together enables U.S. citizens and their family members to live without fear of separation, consistent with fundamental American values," Ketudat said. "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."

Former Trump White House immigration adviser Stephen Miller, whose group America First Legal joined the lawsuit filed by Texas and the other GOP-led states, praised Monday's court order. "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," Miller said in a statement.

In a statement Tuesday, President Biden said the ruling by "a single district court in Texas" was "wrong."

"These families should not be needlessly separated," Mr. Biden added. "They should be able to stay together, and my Administration will not stop fighting for them."