A federal judge in Texas has placed a two-week hold on a Biden administration program that would legalize the illegal alien spouses of U.S. citizens and place them on a path to citizenship.
Currently, if an illegal alien spouse of a U.S. citizen wants to be legalized, they have to go back to their country of origin and wait in line like everyone else to receive a visa and then wait again while in the U.S. for a green card.
The Biden program short-circuits the process and allows the illegal alien spouses legal status without having to return to their country of origin.
"The new process would have applied to noncitizen spouses who have lived in the U.S. for 10 years as of June and are judged not to pose a threat to public safety or national security, reports Fox News.
Sixteen states have sued the Biden administration to stop the program.
“The Biden-Harris Administration — dissatisfied with the system Congress created, and for blatant political purposes — has yet again attempted to create its own immigration system,” the 67-page court filing said. Indeed, almost all immigration actions taken by Biden and Barack Obama before him bypassed the U.S. Congress and used the power of executive orders to effect changes Congress would never agree to.
The Biden policy used to justify the mass legalization is "paroled in place" which has been used in the past on a case-by-case basis. Biden wants to use it to legalize half a million illegals with a wave of his magic wand.
U.S. District Judge J. Campbell Barker on Monday put a stay on the "parole in place" program, which was announced in June and allows for humanitarian parole and a path to permanent residency for certain illegal immigrant spouses of U.S. citizens without them having to leave the country.
The 16 states, led by Texas and America First Legal, argued in a filing first reported by Fox News Digital that the rule violates federal law, which prohibits illegal immigrants from obtaining immigration benefits, including permanent status, without first having left the country and being readmitted.
They argued it does that by an unlawful use of parole, which is limited to use on a "case-by-case basis for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit."
"Biden's unconstitutional scheme would have rewarded over 1 million illegal aliens with the opportunity for citizenship after breaking our country's laws—and incentivized countless more," Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
"This is just the first step. We are going to keep fighting for Texas, our country, and the rule of law. Great to work together with America First Legal, Stephen Miller and our partner states," he said.
Related: Abbott Says Texas Has Purged Over a Million Ineligible Voters
The administration argues "that families live in fear and 'face deep uncertainty about their future' due to the requirement that they depart and be processed abroad."
The trip back to one's country of origin is a "requirement" necessitated by the fact that the illegal alien spouse failed to obey the law in the first place, crossed the border illegally, and resided in the U.S. Why is this so difficult a concept to grasp?
“Texas should not be able to decide the fate of hundreds of thousands of U.S. citizens and their immigrant spouses without confronting their reality,” Karen Tumlin, the founder and director of Justice Action Center, said during the press conference.
There's nothing hard to understand about "their reality." Yes, they built a life and a family, and that's threatened by their stupidity and refusal to obey the law.
“The court’s decision tonight to halt the federal government from providing relief is devastating to the thousands of Texas families that could have benefited from this program,” Jessica Cisneros, an attorney for the advocacy organization the Texas Immigration Law Council, said Monday.
I'm sorry many families are suffering because of the illegal alien spouse's refusal to obey the laws of the United States when coming here. If Congress wants to pass a law that grants exemptions, that would certainly be something worth looking at.
But Congress hasn't passed a law because Joe Biden hasn't requested it. Until he does, Republicans are going to oppose his gambits to legalize illegal aliens.
