Judge In Texas Paused Biden’s Program For Spouses Of U.S. Citizens

A Texas federal judge has paused the Biden administration policy that would allow spouses of U.S. citizens to gain legal status without leaving the country.

“Keep Fighting For Texas, Our Country”

“This is just the first step. We are going to keep fighting for Texas, our country, and the rule of law,” Attorney General Ken Paxton posted on the social media 

The administrative stay issued by the U.S. District Judge J. Campbell Barker comes just days after 16 states, led by Republican attorneys general, challenged the program which could help immigrants around 500,000 in the country, plus about 50,000 of their children, accusing the administration for “blatant political purposes.”

“The claims are substantial and warrant closer consideration than the court has been able to afford to date,” Barker said.

Texas, One of the primarily leading states, claimed the state has had to pay tens of millions of dollars annually from health care to law enforcement if immigrants without a legal status live in the state.

President Joe Biden announced the program in June that lasts for two weeks but could be extended. This announcement came one week after the Department of Homeland Security began accepting applications.

The Policy Offers Citizenship For Spouses 

Judge Barker, appointed by former President Trump in 2019. The judge set a timetable for the case that could lead to a decision before the US election or before the next president’s inauguration in January. Barker gave both sides to file briefs until Oct. 10.

The policy offers citizenship for spouses of U.S. citizens without having legal status after fulfilling a certain criteria, allowing them to stay in the U.S. while their green card application is processed. 

“The court’s decision tonight to halt the federal government from providing relief is devastating to the thousands of Texas families that could have benefited from this program,” noted Jessica Cisneros, an attorney for the Texas Immigration Law Council.

“Texas should not be able to decide the fate of hundreds of thousands of U.S. citizens and their immigrant spouses without confronting their reality,” Karen Tumlin, the founder and director of Justice Action Center, said 

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