A federal judge in Texas has temporarily halted a Biden administration policy that would grant legal status to immigrant spouses of U.S. citizens and their children without forcing them to leave the country. The order by U.S. District Judge J. Campbell Barker comes after a coalition of 16 Republican-led states sued to end the program, arguing it incentivizes illegal immigration and harms the states. The program, which could benefit an estimated half a million adults in the country illegally and 50,000 of their children, allows undocumented spouses and children to apply for permanent resident status if they’ve been in the U.S. for at least 10 years and were legally married to a U.S. citizen by a certain date. It also allows them to work in the U.S. while seeking legal status. The judge’s order is currently limited to two weeks but could be extended. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and others have celebrated the ruling, calling the program unconstitutional. Immigration advocates have expressed disappointment and filed a motion to intervene in the case. Immigration has become a top issue for voters as record numbers of undocumented immigrants have been caught crossing the U.S. border during Biden’s time in office. Migrant apprehensions at the U.S.-Mexico border have decreased recently, reaching the lowest level of the Biden era in July.
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Immigrant spouses’ legal status under Biden administration rule is temporarily halted
