A federal judge in Texas on Monday halted a Biden administration policy that would grant spouses of U.S. citizens legal status without requiring them to leave the country first, at least temporarily setting back one of the president's most sweeping moves to ease the path to citizenship in years.
The administrative stay, issued by U.S. District Judge J. Campbell Barker, came just days after 16 states led by Republican attorneys general challenged the program, which would have benefited about 500,000 immigrants in the country, as well as about 50,000 of their children.
One state leading the way on this issue is Texas, which said in a lawsuit that the state is forced to pay tens of millions of dollars each year on health care and law enforcement because of immigrants living in the state without legal status.
President Joe Biden announced the program in June. The court order, which lasts for two weeks but can be extended, came a week after the Department of Homeland Security began accepting applications.
“The claims are substantial and require more careful consideration than the court has been able to afford to date,” Barker wrote.
In 2019, former President Donald Trump appointed Barker to the Tyler, Texas, seat of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, a favorite seat for conservatives.
The judge laid out a timeline that could see a ruling shortly before the Nov. 5 presidential election or before the president-elect takes office in January. Barker gave both sides until Oct. 10 to file briefs in the case.
The policy offers spouses of U.S. citizens without lawful status who meet certain criteria a path to citizenship by applying for a green card and staying in the U.S. while the process goes through. Traditionally, the process can involve years of waiting outside the U.S., leading to what proponents equate to “family separation.”
The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment on the order.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican, welcomed the order.
“This is just the first step. We will continue to fight for Texas, our country, and the rule of law,” Paxton wrote on social media platform X.
Several families have been notified that their applications have been received, according to lawyers representing 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 facing reality,” Karen Tamlin, founder and director of the Justice Action Center, said at a news conference before the order was issued.
A coalition of states accused the administration of bypassing Congress for “blatant political purposes.”
The program has become especially controversial in an election year when immigration is a major issue, with many Republicans criticizing the policy and arguing that it is essentially a form of amnesty for people who have broken the law.
To be eligible for the program, immigrants must have lived in the United States continuously for at least 10 years, not pose a security threat or have a disqualifying criminal history, and must have married a U.S. citizen by June 17, the day before the program was announced.
They must pay a $580 application fee and fill out a lengthy statement that includes an explanation of why they deserve humanitarian parole and a long list of supporting documents proving the length of their stay in the country.
If approved, applicants have three years to apply for permanent residence. During this period, they can obtain a work permit.
Before the program, people in the U.S. illegally had a hard time getting a green card after marrying an American citizen. They might have to return to their home country — often for years — and they always faced the risk of not being allowed back.