The federal judge of the Eastern District Court of Texas temporarily blocked the program “parole in place” from the Biden administration, which offers a path to permanent residency for spouses and stepchildren of US citizens.

La administrative suspension ruled by Judge J. Campbell Barker on the night of Monday, August 26, comes after 16 states led by Texas and Republican attorneys general, filed a lawsuit against the program arguing that the policy would encourage illegal immigration.

The action occurs one week after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) began accepting applications for “parole in place.”

The judge’s order puts the program on hold for at least 14 days while the lawsuit continues. “The claims are substantial and deserve closer examination than the court has been able to afford to date,” Campbell wrote.

Blocking does not prevent applying for “parole in place”

Texas and the other 15 states had requested a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) to block the implementation of the “parole in place” process called “Keep Families Together.”

The federal government had asked the court to at least allow them to continue the process until August 28 to oppose that TRO request. The court then opted to order what is called an “administrative stay,” for an initial period of 14 days, prohibiting the federal government from issuing any grant of parole or “parole in place” in its place.

“It is important to note that parole in place requests may still be accepted, however. Although the court order is called an administrative suspension, it has the same legal effect as a TRO,” says JAC.

“The most important thing is that nothing has changed at this time regarding the parole in place program. Applications are being accepted and processed in the usual course. This is the most important thing for people to know. There is no court order that changes this at this time,” JAC states.

They accuse the Biden administration of violating the constitution 

The 16-state coalition in the lawsuit accused the Biden administration of evading Congress for “blatant political purposes.” These states also filed a motion requesting that the program be suspended while the challenge continues.

For his part, Texas federal prosecutor Ken Paxton said on Friday, August 23, on social network X, that the plan “violates the Constitution and actively worsens the illegal immigration disaster that is harming Texas and our country.” .

In the lawsuit filed against DHS, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and other government officials accuse the agency of attempting to “mass parole spouses,” which they claim is an abuse of power.

They defend the program

On the other hand, the same day that the judge paused the program, the organizations Justice Action Center” and “Make the Road New York” made a motion to intervene against the demand of “Texas vs. DHS”, on behalf of 11 people directly impacted, and the “Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA).

“These potential intervening defendants are trying to become parties in the case so that your perspectives can be considered by the court,” is indicated in a statement from the “Justice Action Center.”

“Texas should not be able to decide the fate of hundreds of thousands of American citizens and their immigrant spouses without facing their reality,” said Karen Tumlin, founder and director of the Justice Action Center (JAC).

“An order like this is an extreme measure, which, by law, can only be made in the most urgent situations,” Tumlin added.