The only thing keeping the current administration’s radicalism from taking form is the court system. And Democrats aren’t happy.
Because Biden and Kamala suffered a devastating loss in court they may never recover from.
In a move that halts yet another reckless initiative by the Biden-Harris administration, a Texas federal judge temporarily blocked President Biden’s controversial plan to fast-track permanent residency for illegal migrants married to American citizens.
On Monday, U.S. District Judge J. Campbell Barker issued a two-week administrative stay, effectively pumping the brakes on the Department of Homeland Security’s attempt to push through the so-called Parole in Place program.
This program, backed by Vice President Kamala Harris, aimed to grant work authorization, permanent residency, and eventually citizenship to spouses and stepchildren of U.S. citizens who have been illegally in the country for at least ten years.
“The claims are substantial and warrant closer consideration than the court has been able to afford to date,” Barker noted in his nine-page order, following a lawsuit from 16 Republican-led states.
These states argued that the program, a clear overreach by the Biden-Harris administration, would only “incentivize illegal immigration and irreparably harm” their communities.
The lawsuit, filed just days earlier, accused the administration of blatant political maneuvering, stating that the “Biden-Harris Administration — dissatisfied with the system Congress created, and for blatant political purposes — has yet again attempted to create its own immigration system.”
This sharp rebuke highlights the ongoing criticism that Biden and Harris are more interested in appeasing their political base than upholding the rule of law.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, whose state has been hit hard by the costs of illegal immigration, hailed the ruling as “just the first step” in what could be a prolonged legal battle.
Paxton didn’t mince words, calling out Biden’s “unconstitutional scheme” that would have rewarded over a million illegal aliens with a path to citizenship after they’ve blatantly disregarded U.S. laws. “We are going to keep fighting for Texas, our country, and the rule of law,” Paxton vowed.
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey also praised the decision, labeling it a “HUGE win for the rule of law,” as Republicans continue to push back against the administration’s efforts to weaken immigration enforcement.
Biden announced the Parole in Place program in June, part of a broader set of executive actions on immigration that many saw as pandering to the far-Left.
The program, now paused, was set to benefit about 500,000 spouses of U.S. citizens and 50,000 non-citizen children, bypassing the traditional and legally mandated immigration process.
Without this controversial program, non-citizen spouses would have had to endure a years-long wait outside the U.S. to qualify for similar benefits — a process that respects the rule of law rather than rewarding those who break it.
Karen Tumlin, founder and Director of Justice Action Center, a group backing the administration’s plan, predictably decried the judge’s decision as an “extreme measure.”
She argued that Texas had not provided sufficient evidence of harm — a typical refrain from those who ignore the broader consequences of unchecked immigration policies.
Despite the stay, Justice Action Center noted that applications for Parole in Place could still be accepted, keeping the door open for this ill-conceived program while the legal battle continues.
Applicants for the program must have lived continuously in the U.S. for at least a decade, have no disqualifying criminal history, and must have been married as of June 17, conveniently one day before Biden announced the plan.
The $580 application fee and required documentation add a veneer of legitimacy to what many see as just another attempt to undermine America’s immigration laws.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and numerous other Republicans have rightly criticized Biden’s plan as an “amnesty to hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens,” a sentiment that emphasizes the growing discontent with the administration’s approach to immigration.
With the temporary block in place, the Biden-Harris administration faces yet another challenge in its relentless push to rewrite America’s immigration rules by executive fiat.
Stay tuned to the Conservative Column.
