President Biden lashed out at a federal judge Tuesday after the court in Texas stopped a new program designed to help illegal immigrants married to U.S. citizens.
“That ruling is wrong,” Mr. Biden said in a statement, complaining that “a single district court” was able to put his program on hold across the nation.
The program, which began accepting applications last week, applies to illegal immigrants who have been in the U.S. for at least 10 years and are married to Americans. It also covers the migrants’ minor children.
They have a path to citizenship by dint of their marriage, but that path generally requires they travel out of the U.S. to collect a legal visa, then return.
Mr. Biden is offering them what’s known as “parole in place,” which is an amnesty from deportation and tentative legal status. It also forgives the requirement to travel abroad and would let the illegal immigrants gain permanent legal status without needing to leave.
Homeland Security figures about 550,000 people are eligible.
Texas and a number of other GOP-led states sued, arguing the program violates the law and the U.S. Constitution.
U.S. District Judge J. Campbell Barker on Monday issued an administrative stay to halt the program. He said it would be unfair to let it take effect — and to have people granted tentative legal status — if the program were eventually ruled illegal.
He said if the Biden administration were to lose, it would be difficult to unwind any permits already granted to illegal immigrants. So it made more sense to block them for now.
Mr. Biden was dismissive.
“These married couples — in which one spouse is a United States citizen and the other has been living in America for 10 years or more — include our neighbors who have been working, raising their families, paying taxes, worshipping with us and sending their kids to school,” he said.
He also challenged Texas’ argument that he’s breaking the law.
“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,” he said.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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