A federal court in Texas has put on hold one of the largest legalization programs in more than a decade Temporarily detainedDisplacing more than half a million people.
The program, announced by the Biden administration in June, allows spouses of undocumented Americans to apply for green cards without leaving the country. About 500,000 spouses and 50,000 stepchildren will be eligible for the program, according to senior administration officials.
Attorneys general in 16 red states — including Texas, Florida and Georgia argued That program was an illegal attempt to circumvent Congress and create a new path to citizenship. The court gave the states two weeks to prove that they would be permanently harmed if the program were to resume. Then, the court will decide whether it is appropriate to block the program on a long-term basis
Those eligible for the new program have always technically been able to apply for permanent residency through their U.S. citizen spouses or stepparents, but to do so, their families would have to be separated, making it impractical if not impossible to apply.
Because undocumented immigrants must leave the country as part of the green card application process. They are legally ineligible for re-entry for 10 years if they first came to the US without permission and stayed for more than a year. Immigrants can Apply for a waiver This is 10 years time, but the process faces major backlog.
If upheld, the new program would essentially allow noncitizen spouses and stepchildren to bypass that 10-year bar by offering them parole, which protects them from deportation and allows them to work.
Although the government will not be able to process applications to the program under the court order, individuals can still submit applications in hopes that the program will be allowed to restart.
Critically, this can only happen after an appeals process that could extend beyond the November election. If former President Donald Trump is elected, he is expected to scrap the program because it conflicts with his campaign promises. Deportation of undocumented immigrants Living in the United States.
How likely is the program to survive the challenge of the court?
Biden called for the creation of the program, based on previous cases involving legal authorities, should it survive a court challenge, saying Jeremy McKinneyPast President of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.
The program relies on the president’s power to issue “parole in place,” which has been used by both Republican and Democratic presidents for decades to allow immigrants to stay in the United States temporarily, on a case-by-case basis. For humanitarian reasons – or that it will significantly benefit the public. For example, the US government has proposed Parole in lieu of undocumented relatives of US service members.
Part of what could help the new program face legal challenges is that it isn’t creating a new path to citizenship for immigrants, but instead relies on parole to make it easier for undocumented spouses to obtain legal status. Qualified for already.
“What this does is make it easier for mixed-status families to stay together while they go through the legal immigration process,” McKinney said. “It’s not a shortcut to the normal system.”
He noted that the Fifth Circuit, the appeals court that could review the case, previously recognized that the president has parole-in-place authority as recently as 2021 when it called it “a means of removing the bars.” [immigrant] and government benefits.”
“I think the legal landscape looks favorable for these applicants,” he said.
Should undocumented spouses still apply?
Those who are eligible for the program can still proceed with their application.
To be eligible for the new program, spouses must be present in the United States without being lawfully admitted to the United States or having previously been granted parole. They must have resided in the United States for at least a decade and have a legally valid marriage to a U.S. citizen through June 17, 2024. And they must “qualify a favorable exercise of discretion” and not pose a threat to public safety, according to a senior administration official.
For stepchildren to be eligible, they must be unmarried and under 21 years of age. Stepchildren’s parents must have married a US citizen before they turned 18.
The decision to apply may ultimately determine whether applicants are willing to take the financial risk of being on program hold. The application fee is $580 per person, excluding any fees associated with hiring a lawyer to prepare the application.
“They’re making a financial bet, so to speak,” McKinney said. “And so if money is tight, they want to wait until the case is resolved.”
