A coalition of states governed by Republican leadership has initiated legal action against the Biden-Harris administration with the aim of halting an executive order that may grant amnesty to as many as 500,000 undocumented immigrants.
The lawsuit, filed on Friday and shared with the Daily Caller News Foundation, involves sixteen states taking action against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and other senior officials within the White House. The objective is to prevent an executive order that would effectively establish a pathway to citizenship for numerous undocumented immigrants who are married to U.S. citizens. The case has been submitted to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.
“Under Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, the federal government is actively working to turn the United States into a nation without borders and a country without laws,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton stated. “I will not let this happen.”
“Biden’s new parole workaround unilaterally grants the opportunity for citizenship to unvetted aliens whose first act on American soil was to break our laws,” Paxton continued. “This violates the Constitution and actively worsens the illegal immigration disaster that is hurting Texas and our country.”
In June, President Joe Biden unveiled an executive order during a White House event commemorating the 12th anniversary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). This new directive provides deportation protection, work permits, and a route to legal status for hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants who are married to U.S. citizens. Applicants must fulfill specific requirements, including being legally wed to a U.S. citizen, demonstrating residency in the United States for a minimum of ten years, and adhering to additional criteria established by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
The strategy employed by the Biden-Harris administration to implement this extensive amnesty is through a mechanism known as “parole-in-place.” This approach aims to eliminate legal barriers that hinder noncitizen spouses who have entered the country unlawfully from securing green cards without having to leave the country, thereby providing them with a pathway to permanent legal status. Opponents of the plan contend that it is illegal and are pursuing a temporary restraining order.
“Today, we are proud to represent a coalition of sixteen states in filing a lawsuit to block an unconstitutional Biden-Harris amnesty program,” Stephen Miller, president of America First Legal, said in a statement on Friday.
“This executive amnesty gives over one million illegals legal status, work permits, and a path to voting citizenship,” Miller continued. “It is brazenly unlawful, a deadly accelerant to the ruinous border invasion, and we will use every lawful tool to stop it.”
