Joe Biden Handed New Immigration Legal Loss

In a setback for President Joe Biden‘s Administration, a judge in Texas has temporarily blocked a program that would have provided a pathway to citizenship for certain undocumented immigrants married to U.S. citizens.

The ruling, issued on Monday by U.S. District Judge J. Campbell Barker, marks a new legal challenge to President Biden’s efforts to reform the nation’s immigration system.

The program, announced by Biden in June, aimed to allow undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens to remain in the country while applying for green cards, a process that traditionally required applicants to wait outside the United States for extended periods. Advocates of the policy argued it would prevent family separations and streamline the legal immigration process for those already living and working in the country.

However, a coalition of 16 states, led by Republican attorney generals, filed a lawsuit last Friday challenging the program. The plaintiffs argued that the policy would incentivize illegal immigration and place undue financial burdens on states dealing with undocumented populations.

Newsweek has contacted a White House spokesperson via email on Monday for comment.

Meanwhile, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a vocal critic of Biden’s immigration policies, celebrated the court’s decision on social media saying, “We have temporarily BLOCKED Biden’s unlawful new ‘parole in place’ program,” Paxton wrote on X, formerly Twitter. He added, “Biden’s unconstitutional scheme would have rewarded over 1 million illegal aliens with the opportunity for citizenship after breaking our country’s laws—and incentivized countless more.”

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) had begun accepting applications for the program just one week ago. Judge Barker’s administrative stay puts the initiative on hold for at least two weeks while the court considers the merits of the challenge. In his order, Barker noted that the claims against the program “are substantial and warrant closer consideration than the court has been able to afford to date.”

The lawsuit filed by the states claims that the presence of undocumented immigrants has resulted in significant costs to state governments. Texas, in particular, alleged that it spends tens of millions of dollars annually on healthcare, law enforcement, and other services related to its undocumented population.

This legal challenge is the latest in a series of obstacles the Biden administration has faced in attempts to overhaul U.S. immigration policy. Since taking office, Biden has sought to reverse many of the restrictive measures implemented by his predecessor, Donald Trump. However, these efforts have frequently been met with resistance from Republican-led states and conservative judges.

This is a developing story and will be updated as information becomes available.