Judge puts hold on Biden program offering legal status to undocumented spouses of citizens

A federal judge in Texas has temporarily blocked a Biden administration program that could offer legal status to undocumented immigrants married to U.S. Citizens. White House Correspondent Laura Barrón-López reports.

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Geoff Bennett: A federal judge in Texas has temporarily blocked a Biden administration program that could offer legal status to undocumented immigrants who are married to U.S. citizens.

Our White House correspondent, Laura Barron-Lopez, has been covering all of this.

Laura, thanks for being here.

Laura Barron-Lopez: Thanks for having me.

Geoff Bennett: So who is behind this lawsuit and how is the Biden White House responding to all of this?

Laura Barron-Lopez: So it’s important to note this is a lawsuit not based on merits, but a pause as litigation plays out.

And the lawsuit was filed by 16 Republican-led states, attorneys general, led by Ken Paxton of Texas. And he called this — “Biden’s unconstitutional scheme would have rewarded more than one million illegal aliens with the opportunity for citizenship after breaking our country’s laws and incentivized countless more.”

And these Republican-led states claimed that the administration’s actions would cause financial harm to their states because they would have to pay for services like education, health care, driver’s licenses for these undocumented migrants.

And these states were assisted by America First Legal, which is founded by Stephen Miller, Trump — a longtime Trump adviser, architect of many of his immigration policies. He was a part of this lawsuit.

Now, the administration’s says that they are going to defend this policy known as the Keeping Families Together policy. And in a statement today, President Biden said: “Nothing I did changed the requirements people have to meet to adjust their status under immigration law. All I did was make it possible for these longtime residents to file the paperwork here together with their families,” meaning that they would not have to leave the country for years on end in order to get this legal status.

Geoff Bennett: So what does this pause now mean for the people who would have benefited from this program?

Laura Barron-Lopez: The people that would have benefited were undocumented spouses of — married to U.S. citizens who meet clear parameters, like living in the United States for more than 10 years and had no felonies.

They would have qualified for parole in place, which is a longtime program offered by the U.S. without having to leave. And based on the administration’s estimates of who would have been eligible, those impacted are going to be some 500,000 undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens will be impacted by this court ruling, and 50,000 children under the age of 21 who have a U.S. citizen step-parent.

Now, I spoke to Todd Schulte of FWD.us. He’s the president of that pro-immigration immigrant rights group. And he said that this is going to have a significant impact and whiplash for these families.

Todd Schulte, President, FWD.us.: For people who have put in an application and have not heard, people who paid a fee, worked with an attorney, and honestly waited decades, that’s on hold right now. And that is devastating for their families.

I talked to someone who came during the Reagan administration, and this was her best chance to have a little bit more certainty in her life.

Laura Barron-Lopez: So, again, groups like his are going to be fighting this, but they’re very concerned for what this means for these undocumented spouses.

Geoff Bennett: In the meantime, can those undocumented immigrants who are eligible for this program, can they still apply?

Laura Barron-Lopez: So they can still apply, but things could potentially change.

What the Department of Homeland Security said today, Geoff, was that when it comes to the application process, people can continue — they can continue to accept applications, but pending or new applications that have been submitted since this ruling will not be approved. They will basically be in limbo.

And then the parole applications that were already approved will not be affected.

Geoff Bennett: So where does this case, this litigation, where does it go next?

Laura Barron-Lopez: So this pause right now by the judge puts the program on hold for at least 14 days, but it could be extended. And, right now, immigration lawyers, as well as the administration, are fighting to try to make sure that this pause is stopped after 14 days and that ultimately the program can proceed as litigation continues.

But, again, it creates a lot of fear, depression and anxiety for undocumented migrants like Fodeh Tehrae (ph), who’s been in the country. I spoke to him today. He’s been in the country for more than 20 years. He said that when he found — heard the news, he was playing with his 1-year-old son, that it drove his wife to tears.

And his ultimate message is that this is not just targeting undocumented migrants like himself who work in the U.S. and who have created a life here. But all of his family members who are U.S. citizens, his wife, his mother, and he said that Texas is targeting not just one undocumented migrant, but five United States citizens with their ruling.

Geoff Bennett: Laura Barron-Lopez.

Laura, thank you.

Laura Barron-Lopez: Thank you.