Judge Pauses Federal Program Offering Legal Status to Spouses of US Citizens

A woman sits with her son at the Catholic Charities Humanitarian Respite Center after recently crossing the U.S.–Mexico border in McAllen, Texas, on June 21, 2018. Spencer Platt/Getty Images

A Texas federal judge has temporarily paused the Biden administration’s Keeping Families Together parole process, which would allow illegal immigrant spouses of U.S. citizens a path to citizenship, while a legal challenge plays out.

Under the Department of Homeland Security policy, which has already started taking applications, spouses of U.S. citizens without legal status can apply for permission to stay in the country, known as “parole in place.” If granted, they can then apply for a green card and move toward full citizenship if certain requirements are met.

Sixteen states filed a lawsuit on Aug. 23 to halt the program, arguing that it would incentivize illegal immigration and “irreparably harm the Plaintiff states” through millions of dollars annually paid in health care and law enforcement. They sought a temporary restraining order.

In an Aug. 26 ruling filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Judge John Campbell Barker ordered the program to be put on hold for at least two weeks while the legal challenge plays out, granting an administrative stay.

Barker said that, in his opinion, the “claims are substantial and warrant closer consideration than the court has been able to afford to date.”

Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton voiced his support for the order.

“This is just the first step. We are going to keep fighting for Texas, our country, and the rule of law,” he wrote on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

The ruling means that the federal government can’t grant any new applications for “parole in place” for the next 14 days. However, immigrants can still apply and start the process.

To be eligible to apply for the program, applicants must have lived in the United States continuously for at least 10 years, not pose a security threat, and not have a disqualifying criminal history. They are also required to have been married to a U.S. citizen by June 17.

If approved, applicants have three years to seek permanent residency. It’s estimated that more than 500,000 people could be eligible.

Advocacy Group Calls Ruling ‘Extreme’

Karen Tumlin, founder and director of the immigrant advocacy group Justice Action Center, said in an Aug. 26 statement that Barker’s order is an “extreme measure“ that shouldn’t have been used in this case.

“This is heart-breaking for our clients and the thousands of couples who hope to benefit from this process and be able to live without fear that their family will be separated,” she said.

Harold Solis, co-legal director of immigrant-led organization Make the Road New York, said before the ruling that the Justice Action Center and Make the Road New York filed a motion to intervene in the lawsuit on behalf of 11 individuals.

According to Solis, his clients want to become parties to the lawsuit so the court considers their perspectives before making a ruling.

“We filed our Motion to Intervene today to demand that the court understand the lives impacted by the order just given,” Solis said.

“We hope the court will rule swiftly in favor of our Motion so that our clients will finally have their perspectives considered, as their family unity and stability hangs in the balance.”