Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill secured a temporary administrative stay against the Biden-Harris administration, halting the 'parole in place' policy while litigation proceeds.
On August 23, Attorney General Murrill joined Texas and a coalition of 16 states in suing the Biden-Harris administration and the Department of Homeland Security. The disputed agency rule would allow thousands of illegal aliens to remain in the U.S. for years, despite being subject to removal, while they apply for permanent residency status through a U.S. citizen family member.
Federal statute prohibits illegal aliens from obtaining most immigration benefits, such as permanent resident status, without first leaving the country and being admitted to re-enter and reside lawfully. Instead of adhering to current federal law, Biden-Harris’ DHS announced that it would permit 1.3 million illegal aliens to ignore federal law and apply for permanent residency—an opportunity not legally available to those present unlawfully. This move circumvents the Constitution and directly violates laws created by Congress intended to restrict parole authority use to a small number of “case-by-case” determinations.
Louisiana will be irreparably harmed by the PIP Program. Louisiana spends substantial sums providing services to paroled and illegal aliens due to federal law abuses. These services include public education, law enforcement services, healthcare, welfare benefits, and other social services. Federal law requires Louisiana to include paroled and illegal aliens in these programs such as S-CHIP, Medicaid, and SNAP.
“The people of Louisiana continue to suffer because the Biden-Harris administration refuses to perform its constitutional duty to secure our country,” said Attorney General Liz Murrill. “With our border wide open, these actions only incentivize those who have already proven they have no regard for the rule of law to maintain their illegal presence. Those who have shown contempt for our laws and violated our national sovereignty by illegally entering this nation should not be rewarded.”
Louisiana has approximately 70,000 illegal aliens living in the state at an annual cost exceeding $362.2 million for taxpayers. The Migration Policy Institute estimates that 7,000 people would be eligible for the PIP Program.
Joining Louisiana in the lawsuit are Texas, Idaho, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas Missouri North Dakota Ohio South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Wyoming