A federal judge on Thursday struck down a Biden administration program that would have granted legal status to hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants.
U.S. District Judge John Campbell Barker ruled that President Joe Biden’s “parole in place” program was illegal after it was challenged by a coalition of Republican attorneys general. The program was rolled out in June and created a pathway for legal status for illegal immigrants married to American citizens and illegal immigrant stepchildren of American citizens.
Barker ruled that DHS lacked “statutory authority under” the law to grant parole to illegal immigrants. The judge, who was appointed by Donald Trump, blocked the program from taking effect in August.
DHS estimated that the program would have applied to around 550,000 illegal immigrants, while its opponents argued the actual number was much higher.
The Department of Homeland Security was sued by 16 states and America First Legal after it announced the program in June. The states that challenged the program were Texas, Idaho, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Wyoming.
“Joe Biden and Kamala Harris created a crisis at the southern border, leaving the American people to pay the consequences. In the wake of the federal government’s refusal to act, states like Missouri had no choice but to step in and take action to secure our southern border,” Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey said Thursday. “We filed suit to ensure millions of unvetted individuals are not invading our communities.”
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America First Legal Executive Director Gene Hamilton praised the states for blocking the parole program, saying it would have “paved the path for the largest administrative amnesty in American history.”
The policy was sharply criticized by President-elect Donald Trump on the campaign trail earlier this year after it was announced.
“Crooked Joe’s action today is an illegal, unconstitutional amnesty without approval from Congress, no approval from the courts, or the American people,” Trump told thousands of supporters at a rally in Wisconsin. “When I’m re-elected, Joe Biden’s illegal amnesty plan will be ripped up and thrown out on the very first day that we’re back in office.”
Trump has promised to enact a strong crackdown on illegal immigration once back in office and enact the largest deportation program in American history.
