A Texas-based federal judge has invalidated a Biden administration policy designed to smooth the process for undocumented immigrants married to U.S. citizens seeking citizenship. Judge J. Campbell Barker’s decision halts the “Keeping Families Together” initiative, which only briefly accepted applications before being blocked.
The aim of the policy was to help an estimated 500,000 immigrants. These individuals, who have lived in the U.S. continuously for at least a decade, would have been eligible if they posed no security threat and were married to a U.S. citizen by mid-June. The policy leveraged the existing “parole in place” mechanism to offer deportation protections.
Applicants were required to pay a $580 fee and submit detailed applications to justify their need for humanitarian parole. If approved, they would have three years to apply for permanent residency and obtain work authorization.
The program’s suspension comes after Texas and 15 other states, led by Republican attorneys general, launched a lawsuit. They argued that the program bypassed Congress, imposed costs on the states, and might encourage further migration into the U.S. Republicans asserted that the program was a political maneuver by the Biden administration.
Barker, appointed by former President Trump, stated the administration overstepped its authority. He argued that the legal interpretation of existing immigration laws had been stretched excessively. This ruling is part of several legal challenges against the current administration’s policies.
Before its suspension, the initiative faced legal hurdles. The judge initially placed it on hold following the legal challenge, creating uncertainty for potential beneficiaries. This uncertainty is heightened by political developments, including the possibility of Trump’s return to the White House.
Under the current legal framework, noncitizen spouses of U.S. citizens are already eligible for legal status. However, they often need to apply from their home countries, a process that can take several years and separate families.
The Biden administration’s initiative sought to address these challenges by allowing undocumented immigrant spouses to apply for a green card without leaving the country. This offered temporary deportation relief and a short-term sense of security for many immigrants.
