Biden introduces new executive orders on immigration
An announcement released Tuesday said the order would simplify the process for spouses of undocumented citizens and speed up the issuance of work visas for college graduates who are Dreamers.
McALLEN, Texas – A federal judge in East 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.
The administrative stay, ordered by Judge J. Campbell Barker of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, came after 16 states led by Republican attorneys general challenged the program in a lawsuit on Friday, claiming the policy encourages illegal immigration.
One of the states leading the lawsuit is Texas, which claims that the state has 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 Joe Biden announced the program in June, and the pause came a week after DHS began accepting applications.
The order puts the program on hold for at least two weeks while the challenge continues.
“The claims are substantial and require a more detailed review than the court has been able to provide to date,” Barker wrote.
The rule 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., leading to what advocates call “family separation.”
The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment on the order.
Several families have been notified of the receipt of their applications, according to attorneys for the eligible families who filed a motion to intervene earlier Monday.
“Texas should not be able to decide the fate of hundreds of thousands of U.S. citizens and their immigrant spouses without confronting their reality,” said Karen Tumlin, founder and director of the Justice Action Center, during the press conference before the executive order was released.
The coalition of states accused the government of bypassing Congress for “blatant political purposes.”
The program is particularly controversial in an election year when immigration is one of the biggest issues, with many Republicans attacking the policy, claiming it is essentially a form of amnesty for lawbreakers.
To be eligible for the program, immigrants must have lived in the United States continuously for at least 10 years, 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 the application is approved, applicants have three years to apply for permanent residency. During this time, they can get a work permit. The government estimates that about 500,000 people and about 50,000 of their children will be eligible.
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.
