A federal judge has blocked President Joe Biden’s plan to create a pathway to U.S. citizenship for undocumented immigrants married to American citizens.
U.S. District Court Judge Campbell Barker, appointed by former President Donald Trump, ruled that the Biden administration lacked the authority to implement the program.
The decision follows a lawsuit filed by 16 Republican-led states, which argued that the Biden administration should not be allowed to bypass Congress to change immigration law.
Judge Barker had previously issued a temporary block on the program, which was set to help hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants, shortly after it was introduced in August.
In response to the ruling, the White House expressed strong disagreement and said it was considering its next steps.
“This ruling supports Republican state officials who want to force U.S. citizens and their families to either separate or live in constant fear of deportation,” White House spokesman Angelo Fernández Hernández said. “Our administration believes in keeping American families together.”
The Department of Homeland Security also voiced disappointment, asserting that the program was grounded in “well-established legal authority” and aligned with American values of family unity.
America First Legal, a conservative group aligned with Trump, celebrated the judge’s decision. Executive director Gene Hamilton accused the Biden administration of undermining the immigration system and said the ruling had stopped an illegal program that would have granted amnesty to many undocumented immigrants.
The “Keeping Families Together” program, announced by Biden in August, aimed to help undocumented immigrants married to U.S. citizens who have lived in the country for more than ten years. The initiative would allow these immigrants to apply for a green card without leaving the U.S. After three years, green card holders married to U.S. citizens could apply for citizenship.
The Biden administration estimated that about half a million undocumented immigrants could benefit from the program.
The proposal was launched just weeks after Biden took steps to limit asylum claims at the U.S. border, following a surge in crossings.
The administration can appeal the ruling, but the program may remain on hold as President-elect Donald Trump, who has vowed to overhaul immigration laws and focus on “mass deportations,” prepares to take office.
Supporters of the plan argue it would keep families together, while critics claim it amounts to amnesty for migrants who entered the U.S. illegally.
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