Advocates decry Texas lawsuit to stop Biden’s ‘Parole in Place’ for immigrant families

McALLEN, Texas (Border Report) — Migrant advocacy groups denounced a lawsuit filed Friday by Texas and a coalition of other states to try to stop a new federal program that allows the undocumented spouses and children of U.S. citizens to apply for parole without leaving the country. The Department of Homeland Security on Monday opened applications for the Parole in Place program. If approved, spouses and stepchildren of U.S. citizens who have been in the country for at least a decade will be granted work authorization, permanent residency and eventually qualify for citizenship without having to leave the country. Bilingual hotline helps undocumented spouses, children apply for new parole program Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Friday led a coalition of 16 states that filed a lawsuit against Homeland Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and others to kill the program, which he calls “unlawful.” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton led a coalition of 16 states in a lawsuit against the federal government to stop a new … Read More “I am suing the Biden Administration for their unlawful ‘parole in place’ policy that incentivizes and rewards illegal immigration,” Paxton tweeted. Paxton says the program would permit 1.3 million undocumented persons to apply for permanent residency without having to leave the country, including an estimated 200,000 living in Texas. ADVERTISING “This change would allow certain classifications of illegal aliens to gain permanent residency status while remaining in the United States in violation of federal law,” Paxton said in a statement. “Longstanding federal law prohibits aliens who entered the United States unlawfully from obtaining most immigration benefits. This includes obtaining lawful permanent resident status — without first leaving the United States and waiting outside the United States for the requisite time — based on an approved family-based or employment-based visa petition,” the lawsuit claims. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court Eastern District of Texas Tyler Division. Other states joining Texas in the lawsuit include: Idaho Alabama Arkansas Florida Georgia Iowa Kansas Louisiana Missouri North Dakota Ohio South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Wyoming But migrant advocacy groups say the lawsuit is “politically motivated” by Republican-majority states, like Texas, and comes as the country is divided on immigration issues leading up to the presidential election in November. “Once again a cadre of red states, led by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, have tapped the anti-immigrant judicial pipeline in a cynical effort to kill an immigration program that’s designed to keep American families together,” said David Leopold, legal adviser to America’s Voice. CBP One app expands its reach, no longer requiring asylum-seekers to be at border Todd Schulte, president of FWD.us called the lawsuit a baseless legal attack against “a highly popular and lawful policy.” “The only motivation behind this lawsuit is the cruelty of tearing families apart and the crass politics of hoping a judge might do the bidding of the anti-immigrant movement,” he said. Visit BorderReport.com for the latest exclusive stories and breaking news about issues along the U.S.-Mexico border The co-chairman of the American Business Immigration Coalition Action, Al Cardenas, called the Biden policy “morally right and economically crucial. For more information, visit us at https://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/.