Federal judge halts Biden administration’s attempt to grant legal status to undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens.

A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Biden administration’s plan to provide a pathway to citizenship for certain undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens, following a lawsuit filed by 16 Republican-led states.

The program, announced in June, would have allowed some undocumented spouses to remain in the U.S. while applying for permanent residency through a “parole in place” process. U.S. District Judge J. Campbell Barker issued a two-week stay on the program, which may be extended, after the states, led by Texas and supported by America First Legal (AFL), argued that the initiative violated federal law. They claimed that the administration was unlawfully using parole, which should only be applied on a “case-by-case basis for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit.”

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton criticized the program, stating it would have granted citizenship opportunities to over 1 million undocumented immigrants and potentially encouraged more illegal immigration. Stephen Miller, president of AFL, hailed the ruling as a significant victory in the legal battle against what he called “unconstitutional mass amnesty.”

The Biden administration had estimated that the program could benefit around 500,000 immigrants, particularly noncitizen spouses who have lived in the U.S. for at least 10 years and pose no threat to public safety or national security. The program aimed to alleviate the uncertainty faced by families who might otherwise be separated under current immigration laws.

The Department of Homeland Security, which has pledged to defend the policy in court, emphasized its commitment to keeping families together and will continue processing both new and existing applications under the program.