United States | Keeping Families Together ruled unlawful

A federal judge in Texas ruled against the Keeping Families Together program, determining that the policy violates U.S. immigration law.

Key Points:

• U.S. District Court Judge J. Campbell Barker agreed with a lawsuit filed by Texas and more than a dozen other states, stating that the Biden administration did not have legal authority to grant parole in place to undocumented immigrants already in the U.S.
• The Biden administration’s policy, announced in June, intended to provide deportation protections and a streamlined path to permanent residency for qualifying undocumented spouses and stepchildren of U.S. citizens who are long-term U.S. residents.
• The Department of Homeland Security paused the program in August pending legal challenges.
• Per the district court ruling, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will no longer be able to resume approving parole requests under this program.

Additional Information: A White House spokesperson stated, “We strongly disagree with yesterday’s rulings and we are evaluating next steps.”

This alert has been provided by the BAL U.S. Practice Group.

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