Washington — Twenty Republican-controlled states filed a lawsuit on Tuesday asking a federal judge in Texas to halt a program recently unveiled by the Biden administration that would allow up to 30,000 migrants from four countries to enter the U.S. legally each month if they have American sponsors.
The program, which was announced by President Biden earlier in the month, is part of , a new strategy that deters illegal border crossings. It allows eligible migrants from Cuba and Nicaragua to legally live and work in the U.S. under a humanitarian immigration authority known, parole.
Biden’s administration argued that the program, along with increased expulsions for migrants trying to enter the U.S. illegally will help the U.S. better manage the historical migration flows along its southern border over two years.
According to CBS News’ internal government statistics, the average daily number of migrants arrested after crossing the U.S. Mexico border without permission has fallen by more than 40% since January.
The lawsuit was filed by a coalition of states, led by Texas. They claimed that the sponsorship policy illegally expanded the authority to grant parole. This they claimed can only be used in exceptional cases. They also claimed that officials should have made it possible for the public to comment before the program was implemented.
In their lawsuit, the states stated that the policy “amounts” to creating a new visa program which allows hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens to enter the United States.
Parole is a power that Congress has had for decades. It allows U.S immigration officials to allow foreigners to enter the country without a visa.
Representatives from the Department of Homeland Security (which oversees the sponsorship program) did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the lawsuit by the states.
Tuesday’s lawsuit marks the beginning of a new legal battle between Republican attorneys general and the Biden administration over U.S. immigration policy and border policy.
Republican-led states have succeeded in convincing federal judges, many of whom were appointed by President Trump, to stop important parts of Mr. Biden’s immigration agenda over two years.
The Supreme Court stopped the Biden administration in December from lifting a Trump-era border restriction, title 42, which allowed the U.S., mainly to Mexico, to expel hundreds of thousands migrants on health grounds. On March 1, the high court will hear oral arguments in this case.
This month, Mr. Biden revealed a revised border strategy. Title 42 was expanded. The Mexican government has committed to accepting up to 30,000 expulsions per year from migrants from Cuba, Haiti and Nicaragua who are trying to enter the U.S. illegally.
According to court records, Tuesday’s lawsuit was filed with U.S. District Judge Drew Tipton. He is a Trump appointee and has prevented many Biden administration immigration policies at request of GOP-led States, including a 100-day pause in deportations beginning in 2021.
Alabama, Alaska and Arkansas joined Texas in sueing the Biden administration Tuesday.
This month’s sponsorship policy is based on two similar programs that the Biden administration launched last year to allow Americans and others to financially sponsor the arrival in Ukraine of those fleeing Russian invasion and Venezuelans who have been displaced by the socioeconomic crisis.
According to government data, more than 100,000 Ukrainians have been admitted by the U.S. since the announcement of these programs in April and October 2022 respectively.
These programs allow Americans and others with legal U.S. immigration status to apply to sponsor migrants if they have passed background checks and can show they can financially support the newcomers.
