President Joe Biden condemns a Texas judge’s decision to suspend protections for immigrant spouses of U.S. citizens, and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg claims senior White House officials pushed to “censor” certain COVID-19 content during the pandemic.
“This ruling is wrong”: Biden condemns Texas judge’s order to suspend immigration program
A federal judge in Texas on Monday ordered a temporary suspension of the Biden administration’s new protections that would provide a path to citizenship for immigrant spouses of U.S. citizens.
President Joe Biden condemned the decision on Tuesday, lamenting the fact that “a single district court in Texas has ruled that our work of keeping families together must stop.”
“This ruling is wrong,” Biden said. “These families should not be separated unnecessarily. They should be able to stay together, and my administration will not stop fighting for them.”
The administrative stay, ordered by U.S. District Judge J. Campbell Barker, came just days after 16 states led by Republican attorneys general challenged the program, which could benefit an estimated 500,000 immigrants in the country and about 50,000 of their children. The states accused the administration of bypassing Congress for “obvious political purposes.”
One of the states leading this lawsuit is Texas. In the lawsuit, the state argued that it had to spend tens of millions of dollars annually on health care and law enforcement because of immigrants living in the state without legal status.
President Biden announced the program in June. The court order, which is valid for two weeks but could be extended, comes a week after the Department of Homeland Security began accepting applications.
“The claims are substantial and require a more detailed review than the court has been able to provide to date,” Barker wrote.
Barker was appointed by former President Donald Trump in 2019 to the Tyler, Texas, judgeship on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
The judge set a timetable that could lead to a decision shortly before the November 5 presidential election or before the president-elect takes office in January. Barker gave both sides until October 10 to file briefs in the case.
The rule in question offers spouses of undocumented U.S. citizens who meet certain criteria the opportunity to obtain American citizenship by applying for a green card and remaining in the U.S. during the process. Traditionally, the process can involve years of waiting outside the U.S., resulting in what supporters equate to “family separation.”
Texas Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton welcomed the order.
“This is just the first step. We will continue to fight for Texas, our country and the rule of law,” Paxton posted on the social media platform X.
To be eligible for the program, immigrants must have lived in the United States for at least 10 years continuously, must not pose a security threat or have a disqualifying criminal history, and must have been married to an American citizen by June 17, the day before the program was announced.
They must pay a $580 fee to apply and fill out a lengthy application that includes, among other things, a justification for why they are eligible for humanitarian parole and a long list of documents proving how long they have been in the country.
If approved, applicants have three years to apply for permanent residency, during which time they can obtain a work permit.
Before this program, people who were in the United States illegally had a difficult time obtaining a green card after marrying an American citizen. They might have to return to their home country – often for years – and they always had to live with the risk of being denied entry.
Israel: Military rescued hostage kidnapped by Hamas
The Israeli military said on Tuesday it had rescued a hostage kidnapped by Hamas during the terror group’s attack on southern Israel on October 7.
Qaid Farhan Alkadi, 52, was rescued by Israeli forces in a “complex operation in the southern Gaza Strip,” the military said. His health condition is stable.
“For safety reasons for our hostages, our armed forces and national security, no further details can be disclosed,” Israeli security forces said. “His health condition is stable and he will be taken to a hospital for medical examination. His family has been informed of the details and the Israeli forces are accompanying them.”
When he was kidnapped on October 7, he was working as a security guard at a packaging factory in Kibbutz Magen in southern Israel, near the Gaza border. He has two wives and 11 children.
“We are so happy to hug him and see him and tell him that we are all here with him,” Faez, a family member, told Israeli media. “I hope that every hostage comes home so that the families can experience this happiness.”
He is one of eight members of Israel’s Bedouin minority who were kidnapped on October 7.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the rescue operation was part of the army’s “boldest and bravest activities deep inside the Gaza Strip,” adding that Israel was “determined to use every opportunity to release the hostages.”
In the Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7, around 250 people were kidnapped. 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed. For the Jewish population, this was the deadliest day since the Holocaust.
According to the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip, more than 40,000 Palestinians were killed in the Israeli retaliatory strikes. It is unclear how many of them were fighters.
Some of the hostages were released during a ceasefire last year, but the terrorist group is believed to still be holding about 110 hostages. A third of these hostages are believed to be dead. Israel has freed eight of the hostages kidnapped on October 7.
Talks moderated by the United States, Egypt and Qatar with the aim of brokering a ceasefire and the release of the hostages are still ongoing.
Zuckerberg says White House pressured Facebook over some COVID-19 content during pandemic
According to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, senior officials in the Biden administration pressured Facebook to “censor” certain COVID-19 content during the pandemic and vowed that the social media giant would fight back if faced with such demands again.
In a letter to Republican Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee Jim Jordan, Zuckerberg claims that officials, including those from the White House, have “repeatedly pressured” Facebook over months to remove “certain COVID-19 content, including humor and satire.”
When the company did not agree, officials “expressed their deep frustration,” the letter said.
“I believe the government’s pressure was wrong and I regret that we did not speak more clearly about this,” Zuckerberg wrote in the Aug. 26 letter, which was posted on the committee’s Facebook page and on his X account.
With the letter, Zuckerberg once again turns away from efforts to counter misinformation about the coronavirus pandemic during and after the 2020 presidential election, especially after allegations emerged that some posts were wrongfully deleted or restricted.
“I also think we made some decisions that, in hindsight and with new information, we would not make today,” he said, without elaborating. “We are prepared to fight back if something like this happens again.”
In response, the White House said in a statement: “In the face of a deadly pandemic, this administration has called for responsible action to protect public health and safety. Our position has been clear and consistent: We believe technology companies and other private actors should consider the impact of their actions on the American people while making independent decisions about the information they present.”
Experts warn that this year’s U.S. election could be flooded with disinformation on social media, which uses artificial intelligence and other tools to produce false news and content that could mislead voters.
In early 2021, Facebook added labels with what Zuckerberg called “credible information” to posts about COVID-19 vaccines. That came after Facebook moved to warn users who were spreading misinformation about COVID-19 in April 2020, just as the virus had led to global shutdowns and radical changes to daily life.
Conservatives have long derided Facebook and other big technology companies for favoring liberal priorities and accused them of censorship.
Zuckerberg has sought to change right-wing perceptions of the company by appearing on podcaster Joe Rogan’s show in 2022 and calling Republican candidate Donald Trump’s response to an assassination attempt “crass.” He sent his Monday letter to the House Judiciary Committee, whose chairman Jordan is a longtime Trump ally.
