On August 23, 2024, America First Legal (AFL), in collaboration with the States of Texas and Idaho, and a coalition of fourteen state Attorneys General, filed an urgent lawsuit against the Biden-Harris Administration’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The suit was lodged in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, aiming to halt a new program that allegedly provides a pathway to citizenship for over a million undocumented immigrants. The coalition also seeks a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to prevent the administration from proceeding with its plans.
Federal law currently prohibits undocumented immigrants from adjusting their status to Lawful Permanent Resident if they have been unlawfully present in the U.S. This measure serves as a deterrent for illegal immigration. In contrast, individuals who seek legal entry often face years-long waits. Allowing undocumented immigrants to adjust their status could potentially encourage more illegal entries into the U.S.
The Biden-Harris Administration has introduced the Parole in Place (PIP) Program, which allows undocumented immigrants who have been in the U.S. for ten or more years to receive "parole" without leaving the country if they are spouses of U.S. citizens. Stepchildren of U.S. citizens need only have entered before June 17, 2024.
However, parole authority is intended for case-by-case use under urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit and is not meant for mass application or permanent migration purposes. Additionally, parole power is supposed to be exercised only for aliens entering the U.S., not those already present.
Ken Paxton, Attorney General of Texas, stated: “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. 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. This violates the Constitution and actively worsens the illegal immigration disaster that is hurting Texas and our country.”
Stephen Miller, President of America First Legal, commented: “Since our founding over three years ago, America First Legal has led the courtroom fight against the open borders agenda of Biden and Harris. We have sued time and again to fight their catastrophic policies. Today, we are proud to represent a coalition of sixteen states in filing a lawsuit to block an unconstitutional Biden-Harris amnesty program."
Gene Hamilton, Executive Director of America First Legal, added: “This case is about fighting blatantly illegal action by the Biden-Harris Administration while simultaneously fighting for fundamental fairness for any legal immigrant who followed the laws passed by Congress.”
The coalition argues that this program could exacerbate what they describe as an ongoing immigration crisis and cause irreparable harm to states like Texas and Idaho.