SAN LUIS POTOSÍ, Mexico.- A federal judge issued a temporary administrative suspension in the immigration program Parole in Place (PIP), which allows those who are married to U.S. citizens, have resided in the United States for 10 years or more, and do not represent a threat to public or national security, to legalize and obtain citizenship.
Judge J. Campbell Barker of the Texas District Court, issued an administrative suspension that prevents the Government administration from approving the applicationswhich he began accepting last week, while the court studies the case in depth.
BREAKING: Federal judge J. Campbell Barker temporarily blocks federal officials from granting legal status to undocumented immigrants married to US citizens under a new Biden administration program, granting a request from 16 Republican-led states.
Follow @CBSNews for more. pic.twitter.com/pUH0G3CxQt
— Camilo Montoya-Galvez (@camiloreports) August 26, 2024
In halting the effort, Judge Barker said the 67-page lawsuit filed Friday by a coalition of 16 states led by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton raised legitimate questions about the executive branch’s authority to bypass Congress and set immigration policy.
“The claims are substantial and warrant closer scrutiny than the court has been able to afford to date,” Barker wrote.
The lawsuit claims that Biden’s program is unlawful and encourages illegal immigration. The suit was filed by Texas and Idaho, along with 14 state attorneys general from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee and Wyoming.
The administration can continue to accept applications for the program, but can no longer approve them, according to the order. The suspension is initially in place for 14 days while the parties present arguments in the case.
A Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman said in an emailed statement Monday that the program “allows citizens Americans and their families to live without fear of separation, consistent with America’s core values.”
Immigrants whose applications were approved before the judge issued the stay will not be affected by the ruling, the statement said, and spouses of U.S. citizens will still be able to file applications, although approvals will not be granted while the stay remains in effect.
Parole in Place
Announced by the Biden Administration on June 17 of this year, it is estimated that the PIP would grant temporary legal status to some 500,000 migrants and 50,000 minors.
Applicants for the program must qualify to apply for adjustment of status. However, people who have at some point faced deportation proceedings or have criminal record do not qualify for adjustment of status, so this is one of the most important indicators to consider.
Those who intend to apply for the PIP, specialists suggest, must gather marriage certificates, birth certificates of children, passports, citizen information data, employment data and papers that prove their stay in the United States for 10 years.
In this sense, academic certificates, proof of tax payments, rent, mortgages, among other documents, are also valid.
