Ruling in favor of 16 Republican-led states that sued the administration, a federal judge put the program on hold while the court considers the merits of the case.
A federal judge in Texas temporarily blocked on Monday a Biden administration program that could offer a path to citizenship for up to half a million undocumented immigrants who are married to U.S. citizens, ruling in favor of 16 Republican-led states that sued the administration.
Judge J. Campbell Barker of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued an administrative stay to effectively halt the program, which started accepting applications last week, while the court considers the merits of the case.
In suspending the initiative, Judge Baker said that the 67-page complaint filed on Friday by the coalition of states, led by Attorney General Ken Paxton of Texas, raised legitimate questions about the authority of the executive branch to bypass Congress and set immigration policy.
“The claims are substantial and warrant closer consideration than the court has been able to afford to date,” wrote Judge Barker, who was appointed by former President Donald J. Trump.
The administration can continue to accept applications for the program, but can no longer process them, according to the ruling.
The lawsuit is the latest in a series of legal actions that Texas has spearheaded challenging federal immigration policies and powers. The program, called Keeping Families Together, drew sharp criticism from Republicans in an election cycle in which illegal immigration has been a central issue.
The program eased legalization for undocumented people married to Americans who have been living in the United States for more than 10 years. The beneficiaries have lived in the United States for 23 years, on average, according to the Homeland Security Department, which is running the initiative
Even though marrying an American citizen generally provides a pathway to U.S. citizenship already, those who cross the Southern border illegally are required to go back to their home countries to complete the green card process. Often, families remain separated for years to complete the process.
The new program allows them to bypass that step and to stay in the United States while they try to obtain legal status.
Miriam Jordan contributed reporting.
Miriam Jordan reports from a grass roots perspective on immigrants and their impact on the demographics, society and economy of the United States. More about Miriam Jordan
Hamed Aleaziz covers the Department of Homeland Security and immigration policy. More about Hamed Aleaziz
Serge F. Kovaleski is an investigative reporter for The Times, based in New York. More about Serge F. Kovaleski
Our Coverage of U.S. Immigration
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Biden’s Asylum Restrictions: In the months since President Biden imposed sweeping restrictions on asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border, the policy appears to be working exactly as he hoped and his critics feared.
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Undocumented Spouses: Sixteen Republican-led states sued the Biden administration over a new program that could give legal status to undocumented immigrants who are married to U.S. citizens.
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Texas Stopped Busing in June: Gov. Greg Abbott’s program forced Democrats to talk about the border. But a dramatic drop in the number of migrants has left the buses idle.
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Citizenship Backlog Ebbing: The federal government has reduced an accumulation of applications that built up during the Trump administration. New citizens say they are looking forward to voting in November.
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The Right-Wing Dream of ‘Self-Deportation’: Some conservatives have a grim proposal to make undocumented immigrants leave: Exclude their children from schools.
