Texas, Other GOP-Led States File Lawsuit Against Program to Grant Legal Status to Immigrant Spouses of U.S. Citizens

Sixteen Republican-led states are suing to end a federal program that could potentially give nearly half a million immigrants without legal status married to U.S. citizens a path to citizenship.

The coalition filed a lawsuit Friday seeking to end the program launched by President Joe Biden in June, claiming in court documents that the administration bypassed Congress to create a path to citizenship for blatant political purposes.

This action encourages illegal immigration and will cause irreparable harm to the plaintiff states, according to the complaint filed in federal court in Tyler, Texas.

Under the policy, which began accepting applications Monday, many spouses without legal status can apply for what's called in-place parole, offering permission to remain in the United States, apply for a green card and eventually start on a path to citizenship.

But the program has been particularly controversial in an election year where immigration is one of the biggest issues, with many Republicans attacking the policy and saying it is essentially a form of amnesty for people who have broken the law.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a statement Friday that the plan “violates the Constitution and actively exacerbates the disaster of illegal immigration that is harming Texas and our country.”

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The lawsuit filed against the Department of Homeland Security, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and other Biden administration officials accuses the agency of attempting to mass release spouses, which the states say is an abuse of power. The states also filed a motion asking that the program be suspended while the lawsuit continues.

In a post on X, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody said her state is challenging the in-place parole policy because she believes the Biden administration is systematically using parole illegally to advance its open borders agenda.

The conservative nonprofit America First Legal, led by Stephen Miller, a former adviser to President Donald Trump, is acting as co-counsel in the lawsuit.

Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Mayra Alejandra said the agency will defend the Keeping Families Together program in court and will continue to process applications already submitted as well as accept new applications.

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“Keeping Families Together” is based on well-established legal authority, and its goal of enabling families of American citizens to live without fear of separation is consistent with core American values, Alejandra said.

White House spokesman Angelo Fernandez Hernandez hit back at Republican political maneuvering and called the trial another form of family separation.

This lawsuit seeks to force American citizens and their families, people who have lived in the United States for more than a decade, to continue living in the shadows, Fernandez said in a statement.

The bipartisan immigration and criminal justice organization FWD.us said the program complied with the law and noted the timing of the trial as Vice President Kamala Harris accepted the Democratic nomination for president.

The only motivation behind this trial is the cruelty of tearing families apart and the crude politics of hoping a judge will do what is necessary to satisfy the anti-immigrant movement, the organization said in a statement.

Karen Tumlin, founder and director of the Justice Action Center, called the legal challenge unsurprising but extremely disappointing and cruel.

However, it is important to stress that nothing is changing for now and the process is still open and accepting applications, she said.

To be eligible for the program, immigrants must have lived continuously in the United States for at least 10 years, not pose a security threat or have a disqualifying criminal history, and have been married to a citizen before June 17, the day before the program was announced.

They must pay a $580 application fee and fill out a lengthy form, including an explanation of why they deserve compassionate parole and a long list of supporting documents proving how long they have been in the country.

If their application is accepted, applicants have three years to apply for permanent residency. During this period, they can obtain a work permit. The administration estimates that about 500,000 people could be eligible, as well as about 50,000 of their children.

VIDEO: How Biden's immigration order protects undocumented spouses and children of citizens

Before this program, it was difficult for people who were in the United States illegally to get a green card after marrying a U.S. citizen. They could be forced to return to their home country for years, and they always ran the risk of not being allowed to return.

The complaint argues that states will have to bear the burden of the additional immigrants remaining in the country.

According to the complaint, Texas spends tens of millions of dollars each year on a program that provides health insurance to children, including those in the country illegally. The state also spends millions of dollars each year to increase law enforcement while its citizens suffer increased crime, unemployment, environmental damage and social unrest due to illegal immigration.

Because program recipients will be eligible for work authorization, these additional workers will drive down wages for Texas residents, directly harming the state and its citizens, the lawsuit says.

Evelyn Wiese, an immigration attorney at Americans for Immigrant Justice, described the lawsuit as an attack on mixed-status families who have spent years contributing to their communities in the United States.

Trying to tear these families apart and prevent them from accessing a legal path to status in the United States is cruel and reflects anti-immigrant extremism, she said.

AP journalist Rebecca Santana contributed to this report from Washington.

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