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Judge rules against amnesty proposal for 500,000 spouses of US citizens
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Judge rules against amnesty proposal for 500,000 spouses of US citizens

A federal judge rejected a Biden administration order that would have opened a path for spouses and stepchildren of U.S. citizens to remain legally in the nation.

Thursday’s ruling comes after a group of Republican state attorneys general filed a lawsuit in August against the Biden administration’s “in-force parole” policy, arguing that the president overstepped his authority in granting such amnesty. Judge J. Campbell Barker, appointed by then-President Donald Trump, agreed with the attorneys general.

An estimated 550,000 illegal immigrants in the United States were eligible for the program.

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Currently, spouses and stepchildren of U.S. citizens who are not legally in the country must leave the country before applying for legal status. If the Biden administration’s proposal had been allowed to move forward, an estimated 500,000 spouses of U.S. citizens and 50,000 stepchildren would have received three years of amnesty.

During that time, spouses and stepchildren could continue to live in the U.S. while making their case for permanent resident status.

The rule would have allowed spouses of citizens to apply only if they had been in the United States for more than a decade and had no disqualifying criminal record.

The White House implemented the program on August 19, but a court temporarily suspended it a week later. It is unclear if the administration approved any requests before the program was stopped.

“Joe Biden and Kamala Harris created a crisis at the southern border, leaving the American people to pay the consequences. In the wake of the federal government’s refusal to act, states like Missouri had no choice but to step in and take action to secure our southern border,” said Missouri Attorney General Bailey. “We filed a lawsuit to ensure that millions of unvetted people do not invade our communities.”

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On average, spouses who would have been eligible for the program have resided in the United States for 23 years, White House officials said.

The Biden administration said its preference has been to go through Congress to fix a “broken” immigration system. When she first introduced the proposal, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the proposal did not hinder efforts to combat illegal immigration at the border.

With President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration in January, the parole program is likely to expire before being appealed.