Judge pauses key Biden immigration programme. Immigrant families struggle to figure out what to do

McALLEN, Texas (AP) — Maria García began the week full of hope. Swinging by the office of her attorney in Los Angeles, she dropped off required paperwork for the Biden administration's new immigration policy that could finally give her husband, Roberto, legal residency as the spouse of an American citizen.

But only hours later Monday, that dream was interrupted when a federal judge in Texas temporarily suspended the program that could benefit an estimated 500,000 immigrants in the U.S., freezing in place one of the biggest presidential actions to ease a path to citizenship in years.

“They are hurting American families. We are in limbo,” said Maria Garcia, a 44-year-old US citizen who married Roberto in 2017. “I feel a lot of anger, helplessness. Why block families who have a lifetime here?”

The pause issued by US District Judge J. Campbell Barker came in response to a challenge by 16 states, led by Republican attorneys general, who filed a federal lawsuit just days after the programme began taking applications last week. The order, known as administrative stay, will be in place for 14 days but could be extended.

“That ruling is wrong. These families should not be needlessly separated,” President Joe Biden said in a statement Monday. “Nothing I did changed the requirements people have to meet to adjust their status under immigration law. All I did was make it possible for these long-time residents to file the paperwork here – together with their families,” Biden added.

The states claimed the move would cause irreparable harm and accused the administration of bypassing Congress for “blatant political purposes.”

On Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security said the government would continue to take applications and defend the programme in court. Any applicants whose parole was granted prior to the order will be unaffected, according to the department.

DHS did not respond to questions about how many applications were received or approved or how long it takes to determine the outcome of a case under the programme, which the government named Keeping Families Together.

“Keeping Families Together enables US citizens and their family members to live without fear of separation, consistent with fundamental American values,” the DHS said in a statement.

Gregory Chen, the director of government relations for the American Immigration Lawyers Association, said he had heard from lawyers affiliated with the association of at least hundreds of people who had applied since the programme was launched Aug. 19, including some who applied and were approved the next day.

Lawyers are rushing to understand what the order means for their clients, too. According to Chen, the organisation's listserv for lawyers interested in the Keeping Families Together programme “blew up” after the judge's decision late Monday with questions about what the decision means.

The organisation has held three webinars designed to educate lawyers about the programme. One of those seminars had about 1,000 lawyers in attendance, an extremely high number for one of the group's educational offerings, Chen said.

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